A member of the United States House of Representatives, Riley Moore, has praised the Nigerian Senate for approving a constitutional amendment bill aimed at creating state police forces, describing the move as a significant step toward improving security and protecting vulnerable communities, including Christians facing persecution.
The Punch reported that Moore, who represents West Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District, expressed his views in a post shared on X on Wednesday following the Senate’s passage of the Constitution Alteration Bill that seeks to allow states to establish and operate their own police services alongside the Nigeria Police Force.
The American lawmaker, who has repeatedly raised concerns about violence against Christians in Nigeria, said the proposed reform aligns with recommendations he has made both publicly and privately.
“I’m encouraged to see Nigeria’s Senate approve legislation to establish state-level police forces, a reform I’ve called for publicly and privately since I first started investigating the genocide against Christians in Nigeria.
“I can’t stress how critical this law that will empower states to protect their own citizens and reducing dependence on decision makers in Abuja is to the effort to defend persecuted Christians and address insecurity,” he wrote.
Moore further acknowledged President Bola Tinubu’s role in advancing the initiative but pointed out that the bill must still receive backing from at least two-thirds of the country’s state Houses of Assembly before becoming law.
“President Tinubu deserves credit for pushing it forward, but now we need 2/3rds of the states to ratify before it will take effect,” he added.
The Senate approved the bill on Wednesday after more than two-thirds of lawmakers voted in its favour during a manual voting exercise.
If eventually adopted into the Constitution, the legislation would introduce a dual policing structure, enabling states to establish police forces that would operate alongside the federal police system. Under the proposal, state governors would be empowered to appoint Commissioners of Police, subject to confirmation by their respective state Houses of Assembly.
The bill also contains provisions intended to prevent misuse of state police powers, stipulating that the forces cannot be used against individuals or groups solely for criticising a state government except as permitted by law.
The constitutional amendment will only take effect after securing the required approval from state legislatures and completing all other constitutional procedures.
