State Police Proposal Now At Constitutional Amendment Stage, Says Gbajabiamila 

By Rotela Oguns

Femi Gbajabiamila, chief of staff to President Bola Tinubu, has said due diligence must be ensured in the execution of an initiative as monumental and far-reaching as the establishment of state police.

The chief of staff noted that  the establishment of state police cannot be done with the “snap of the fingers”, adding that many legal and constitutional issues are involved.

He, however, stressed that deliberations on the establishment of state police  have advanced to the stage of considering necessary constitutional amendments.

Gbajabiamila spoke on Thursday while addressing State House correspondents after a consultative meeting on state police convened by the presidency.

The consultative meeting, which took place at the State House in Abuja, was attended by Jibrin Barau, deputy senate president; Benjamin Kanu, deputy speaker of the house of representatives; Tunji Disu, inspector-general of police (IGP); and other government officials.

“We started deliberations in the last three or four months on how to go about the establishment of state police as directed by Mr President,” Gbajabiamila was quoted in a statement by Bayo Onanuga, presidential spokesperson.

“Establishing state police is not something that you do with the snap of the fingers. There is a lot involved in terms of constitution and legalities, and thank God we have now gained a lot of traction.

“Hopefully, the amendment will come shortly, and the details of the amendment will come after that.

“Right now, what we are looking at is the constitutional amendment itself, and then the enabling law would follow thereafter.

‘”That is what we have been deliberating on in the last couple of hours.”

The agitation for the creation of state police started during the reign of President Mohammadu Buhari when the spate of insecurity in the country became unbearable.

The clamour has, however, reached a crescendo under the current administration of President Bola Tinubu following the surge in abduction, banditry and allied insurgency.

The most recent act of banditry that sparked national outrage is the abduction of  39 students and seven teachers following  an attack launched on  three schools in Oriire LGA of Oyo State on May 15.

A  day prior to the Orire incident, Between  gunmen attacked a primary school in Chibok, Borno, and abducted 42 children.

Meanwhile, you will recall that  Opeyemi Bamidele, senate leader, recently said the national assembly would fast-track the establishment of state police following the abduction of students and teachers in Borno and Oyo states.

Also in March, the IGP inaugurated a seven-member steering committee on the establishment of state police.