Tinubu’s Bill on State Police has enough safety guards against abuse – Abbas

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, Wednesday, assured that the President Bola Tinubu’s State Police Establishment Bill before the National Assembly contains extensive safeguards to prevent governors or political actors from hijacking the outfits.

He stated this while allaying widespread concerns that the proposed state police could become instruments of political intimidation.

In a keynote address at the National Security Roundtable held as part of the 2026 National Assembly Open Week, Wednesday, he said the fears expressed were legitimate.

“I understand the concern that many people bring to this discussion, and it is a reasonable one. It is the fear that a state police could become the private army of a governor or a political godfather

“The people who drafted this bill had the same fear, and they answered it,” he said.

Chairman of the session and former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor (rtd), called for a comprehensive overhaul of Nigeria’s security architecture, saying the nature of security threats have changed.

Also, Kaduna state governor, Uba Sani, called for intelligence-led policing, stronger inter-agency collaboration and greater use of technology as part of efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s security.