The Nigerian Senate has joined its House of Representatives counterpart in passing the Police (Repeal & Re-enactment) Bill, 2020. It will be recalled that the House of Representatives had passed the Police Reform Bill on June 2. This would be the first time that both Chambers have passed the Police Reform Bill. In the 8th Assembly, only the Senate passed the Bill, with the House turning down its passage. There are slight differences in the versions passed by both chambers of the National Assembly. The Senate and House of Representatives will now need to sit in conference to pass the Bill and transmit same to the President for his assent.
The Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) has worked with different stakeholders over the last several years to achieve police reform in the country. In the 8th National Assembly, PLAC worked with the Senate and House of Representatives towards achieving passage of the Bill, and sustained these efforts in the 9th Assembly. In December 2019, PLAC facilitated a meeting of the Senate Committee on Police Affairs, top level officers of the Nigeria Police, the Police Service Commission and other key actors, to discuss the Bill. The Bill was introduced in the Senate on November 20, 2019 and read for the second time on 13 February 2020.