The Senate has explained why the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, will not be included in the proposed state police structure, citing its unique constitutional status and the absence of key institutions required for a state-controlled police system.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Publicity, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, said the FCT does not have a governor or a State House of Assembly and remains under the direct administration of the Federal Government.
According to him, the FCT is administered by a minister who operates under the authority of the Federal Executive Council, while the National Assembly performs legislative functions for the territory.
Adaramodu said the absence of a state legislature and governor makes it impossible for Abuja to operate under the same policing framework being proposed for Nigeria’s 36 states.
He explained that the proposed state police system is designed around state institutions, including state Houses of Assembly with powers to legislate on the establishment, administration, funding and oversight of state police.
“The federal capital does not have an assembly. It is the National Assembly that legislates for the FCT,” Adaramodu explained, stressing that the territory would therefore remain under the Federal Police.
The clarification comes amid the Federal Government’s efforts to establish a new policing framework in response to growing calls for decentralised security and improved policing across the country.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is expected to receive the draft Executive National Policing Bill on September 3, which is intended to provide an operational framework for the proposed policing structure.
Chief of Staff to the President and Chairman of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, Femi Gbajabiamila, had also launched a public information portal through which Nigerians can submit memoranda and position papers on the proposed reforms.
Under the constitutional amendments being considered, state Houses of Assembly would be empowered to legislate on the establishment, administration, funding and oversight of state police formations.
The states would bear the primary responsibility for financing their respective police formations, while the Federal Government could provide grants or other assistance based on recommendations from the National Police Council and subject to approval by the National Assembly.
However, the FCT would remain under the federal policing structure because of its distinct constitutional status and direct administration by the Federal Government.
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