Senator Neda Imasuen has thrown his weight behind the Senate’s passage of the State Police Bill, insisting that concerns over possible abuse by State governors should not derail what he described as a critical reform to tackle Nigeria’s worsening security challenges.
The senator representing Edo South made the remarks on Thursday during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, where he described the proposed state policing framework as “a step in the right direction.”
Imasuen acknowledged that many Nigerians have expressed genuine concerns that governors could misuse state police for political purposes but argued that no law is perfect at inception.
According to him, the implementation of state police would remain a continuous process of improvement, with emerging challenges addressed as they arise.
“I understand that many Nigerians have well-founded concerns about the potential misuse of state police by governors. That is a valid truth, but we cannot allow fear to prevent us from addressing the urgent security matters before us,” he said.
The lawmaker maintained that Nigeria should not abandon the idea of state policing because of fears of abuse, noting that even advanced democracies continue to refine their policing systems.
“The implementation of state police will be a work in progress. As the system comes to birth, new challenges will arise, and we will address them as they come.
“No country has perfect laws. Even in the United States, you still see cases of police abusing citizens. That does not mean policing should be abolished; rather, you fine-tune and continue to refine the system until you get what you want. Overall, I think this is something Nigeria must have,” Imasuen stated.
The Senate recently passed the State Police Bill as part of ongoing constitutional reform efforts aimed at decentralising policing and strengthening internal security across the country.
The proposal has continued to generate nationwide debate, with supporters arguing that state police will enhance local security responses, while critics warn that it could be exploited by state governments for political purposes.
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