A United States lawmaker, Riley Moore, has welcomed the passage of the Constitution Alteration Bill seeking to establish state police in Nigeria.
Moore, who represents West Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, said the reform would help states better protect their citizens and reduce dependence on security decisions from Abuja.
He made the remarks in a post on his 𝕏 handle on Wednesday.
Moore said he had long advocated the establishment of state-level police forces in Nigeria, especially in relation to attacks on Christians.
“I’m encouraged to see Nigeria’s Senate approve legislation to establish state-level police forces, a reform I’ve called for publicly and privately since I first started investigating the genocide against Christians in Nigeria.
“I can’t stress how critical this law that will empower states to protect their own citizens and reduce dependence on decision makers in Abuja is to the effort to defend persecuted Christians and address insecurity,” he wrote.
The U.S. congressman commended President Bola Tinubu for supporting the proposal.
However, he noted that the amendment would still require approval from at least two-thirds of the state Houses of Assembly before taking effect.
“President Tinubu deserves credit for pushing it forward, but now we need 2/3rds of the states to ratify before it will take effect,” Moore added.
The Senate on Wednesday passed the Constitution Alteration Bill seeking to establish state police across the federation after more than two-thirds of senators voted in support.
The proposed law seeks to create a state policing structure that will operate alongside the federal police system.
Under the bill, governors will be empowered to appoint Commissioners of Police for their states, subject to confirmation by their respective Houses of Assembly.
The bill also contains provisions meant to prevent abuse of state police powers.
It provides that state police cannot be deployed against individuals or groups merely for criticising a state government, except in accordance with the law.
The bill will only become part of the Constitution after securing the required approvals from state legislatures and completing other constitutional processes.
