The Senate responded to criticism from Peter Obi and others by saying the National Police Bill was not political

The Senate has reacted to the criticism that followed the passage of the bill to establish a State Police structure in the country, explaining that it was “purely out of necessity and not political interest and a product of national consensus and not cynicism.”

Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele in a statement issued by the Directorate of Media and Public Affairs on Sunday, explained that the process of accommodating the state police in the state government structure did not begin recently.

Among others, Presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC) Peter Obi wondered about the speed with which both houses of the federal legislature passed the bill establishing the state police and said the move was suspicious considering the close timing to the general elections.

He also asked the National Assembly to postpone the process until after the election, arguing that the bill requires wider consultation to allow input from more stakeholders.

However, despite the differences of opinion, the Senate defended the passage of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Amendment) (State Police) Bill 2026, stating that this legislative initiative is of urgent public interest and cannot, and should not, overrule anyone’s political aspirations given the harsh realities facing the country.

Bamidele said observations showed that the majority of Nigerians welcomed the passage of the bill in the belief that the bill would significantly degrade the country’s security conditions at the sub-national level.

He explained that the state police proposal was part of a memorandum submitted to the Senate Adhoc Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution. He added that the memorandum had gone through a rigorous process and multi-tier consultations across the federation due to its sensitive nature.

During the process, Bamidele observed that the National Assembly consulted extensively with the Executive, the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), the Conference of Chairmen of Nigerian State Legislatures and the top brass of the police.

In July 2025, according to him, the National Assembly held public hearings across geopolitical zones and most participants agreed.

“At every level of our consultation, almost all stakeholders accepted the draft police law considering the harsh reality we are currently facing,” he said.

Bamidele explained the contribution of the police in the process of passing the Constitutional Amendment Bill, which he said is one of the very important recommendations that can help the National Assembly develop accountability and oversight mechanisms to prevent abuse of police powers by some political actors.

The Senate leader added that the Nigerian Police’s determination “to support the bill clearly highlights its national strategic significance in addressing insecurity at local and state levels.”

Beyond input from the police, Bamidele further explained that the bill had undergone heated debate in the Senate and the House of Representatives.

He said: “Even though the APC was in the majority, there were members of the opposition party who used their discretion to support the bill, primarily in the national interest and not on parochial grounds. In the Senate, for example, 84 out of 109 members voted clause by clause in favor of the bill. This accounted for 77.06 percent approval in the Senate alone.”