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By Lawrence Agbo
The Senator representing Kebbi South Senatorial District, Garba Maidoki, has urged the Federal Government to prioritise the implementation of existing laws before pursuing a constitutional amendment to establish state police.
Maidoki said the effectiveness of any new security legislation would remain uncertain if laws already in force were not properly enforced.
Speaking on Politics Today, the senator questioned the assurance that a new legal framework for state police would be implemented when existing provisions had, in his view, not been put into practice.
“We have laws. Let’s practise what we have first so that we can see the difference and we can see the gap,” Maidoki said.
He argued that provisions contained in existing laws had failed to make the desired impact because they were not being implemented.
“Whatever is in the law today has no meaning, has not been practised. What is the guarantee that any alteration, anything, can be practised?” he asked.
Maidoki’s comments come amid renewed debate over the proposed creation of state police as part of efforts to address Nigeria’s security challenges.
President Bola Tinubu recently transmitted a constitutional amendment bill to the Senate seeking to establish a legal framework for state police services across the country.
The proposed legislation seeks to create a dual policing structure that would allow federal and state police systems to operate within a constitutional framework.
However, Maidoki maintained that authorities should first demonstrate a commitment to enforcing existing laws and identifying gaps in the current security system before introducing further legal alterations.
