Abuja lecture to examine proposed state police structure
The House of Representatives Press Corps will hold a lecture in Abuja on October 6 on the proposed creation of state police services. The event is expected to bring together lawmakers, policymakers and security experts to discuss decentralised policing, funding, oversight and safeguards against abuse.
The proposed creation of state police services in Nigeria will be the focus of a public lecture organised by the House of Representatives Press Corps in Abuja on October 6. The event, titled “The Imperative for State Police: Securing Communities, Strengthening Federalism,” is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. at the National Assembly Library Auditorium.
It forms the centrepiece of the corps’ second annual Distinguished Parliamentarian Lecture and Awards. The discussion follows the transmission of a Constitution Alteration Bill to Nigeria’s 36 State Houses of Assembly. The bill seeks to allow states to establish and operate their own police services.
Supporters of the proposal say decentralising policing could improve responses to security threats that are specific to local communities. The lecture is expected to examine its implications for community security, federalism and relations between state and federal security institutions. Nnadubem Moghalu, secretary of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill and Senior Special Assistant to the President on Planning and Research, is expected to deliver the lecture.
The event will also consider funding, recruitment, training, operational independence, accountability and oversight. Safeguards against potential abuse of state-controlled police structures are expected to form part of the discussion. Expected participants include Niger State Governor Mohammed Bago, Tantita Security Services chairman Government Ekpemupolo, known as Tompolo, and former House Minority Leader Ndudi Elumelu.
House Speaker Abbas Tajudeen will be chief host and is expected to address the 10th House’s position on state police and related security legislation. Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu and other officials, lawmakers, civil society representatives and development partners are also expected to attend. Awards will be presented to Bago and Ekpemupolo for rural development, public leadership and national-assets protection.
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