A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Segun Sowunmi, has dismissed fears about the abuse of state police, describing them as “annoying”.

Sowunmi said this during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Thursday, hailing President Bola Tinubu for his role in the Senate’s passage of the bill for state police.

“Mr President, ‘Eagle One’, well done, because the argument people made that ‘Oh, it would be abused’ is annoying,” he said.

According to him, now that the Constitution has been amended to create state police, governors no longer have excuses for not addressing insecurity in their domains.

He said, “now we have removed that excuse” of governors saying they are not in control of the police and other security apparatus.

On Wednesday, the Senate passed a bill to establish state police after Tinubu sent it to them as part of moves to address insecurity in Nigeria.

The bill was considered after Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele presented its general principles. It subsequently scaled second reading, was considered clause-by-clause, and passed third reading.

The key objective of the bill is to empower state governors to appoint commissioners of police for their respective states, subject to confirmation by the state houses of assembly.

The development came amid calls to fast-track the process and secure the country following a spike in security challenges.

Before now, Tinubu had hinted to the lawmakers about the move, telling them of his administration’s bid to tackle banditry and other crimes facing Nigeria.

“We are facing terrorism, banditry, and insurgency. But we will never fail to make the right response to these challenges,” the president said in the letter to the Senate,” Tinubu said during a February 26, 2026, interfaith breakfast with senators at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

“What I will ask for tonight is for you (Senators) to start thinking about how best to amend the Constitution to incorporate state police for us to secure our country, take over our forests from marauders, and free our children from fear.”

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