The Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly in Nigeria has voted unanimously to support a proposed national law allowing states to set up their own police forces, Premium Times reports.
Members adopted a committee report recommending the National Policing Bill be approved without changes. The Speaker, Udeme Otong, said the bill would create a constitutional framework for state police while keeping the federal force in charge of national policing duties, with the two sharing information and assisting each other.
Mr Otong argued that local forces would bring policing closer to communities, improve responses to security threats and create jobs for young people. The assembly in Ekiti State has also recently passed a bill to establish state police.
Source: Premium Times
