The Nigerian Senate has passed a bill that would hand policing powers to state governments, a move that supporters say could meaningfully shift how security is managed across the country's 36 states.
The bill now heads to the Senate's Constitution Review Committee, where lawmakers will work through the legal and structural changes required to make state-level police forces a constitutional reality.
For years, the debate over state police in Nigeria has been loud and often emotional, with advocates arguing that local forces would respond faster and more effectively to the security crises communities are living through. Critics, on the other hand, worry about the potential for governors to weaponize such forces for political ends.
Whether the committee fast-tracks the process or buries it in deliberation is the question many Nigerians are now watching closely.
Originally published by AllAfrica.