The House of Representatives passed a bill to provide for the establishment of state police in the country for second reading.

The bill, sponsored by the Deputy Speaker of the House, Benjamin Kalu and 14 others, seeks to alter the relevant Sections of the 1999 Constitution to pave the way for states to establish their own policing outfits.

As lawmakers took turns to contribute to the debate on the floor of the House during Tuesday’s plenary, Kalu, who stood in for the Speaker, Abbas Tajudeen, urged members to look beyond political ambitions and think about the safety of Nigerians and Nigeria.

Also speaking, Babajimi Benson (APC, Lagos) said, “It is the job of the police to maintain law and order.

“We have a population of over 200m people but we have a police strength that is less than 400,000. State Police should be created to address the internal security challenges of Nigeria.”