By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

President Bola Tinubu has transmitted a Constitution Alteration Bill seeking the establishment of state police to the Senate.

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, made this known during Tuesday’s plenary, adding that the Senate will consider the constitutional amendment bill on Wednesday, tomorrow.

Akpabio also announced that the states have promised to consider the state police bill on the same day once they receive it.

The proposed legislation seeks to amend relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution to create a legal framework for state police across the federation.

The move follows repeated calls by the President for constitutional reforms to enable states to play a greater role in securing their territories.

In February, Tinubu urged the National Assembly to amend the Constitution to accommodate state police, describing the reform as necessary to tackle terrorism, banditry and other security threats.

During his Democracy Day address earlier this month, the President vowed that terrorists, bandits and their sponsors would face the full weight of the law, insisting that no mercy would be shown to enemies of the state.

Tinubu said more than 13,000 terrorists had been neutralised within the last year and noted that terrorism-related deaths had fallen significantly compared to previous years.

However, he acknowledged that the continued captivity of schoolchildren abducted in Oyo and Borno states remained a painful reminder of the country’s security challenges.

The state police proposal has gained momentum in recent months, with both chambers of the National Assembly advancing constitutional amendment processes aimed at decentralising policing powers to the states.

The Senate is also expected to reconvene today for an emergency plenary session as lawmakers move to pass the bill and advance one of the most far-reaching security reforms in the country’s democratic history.

The Peoples Redemption Party, PRP, has denied allegations that it sold 69 nomination forms to former Kano Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso to “hijack” the party, saying all positions have been filled and Kwankwaso is not even a member.

Abdulkadir Guza had alleged that Kwankwaso procured 69 PRP nomination forms to take over the party’s structure ahead of 2027.

In an interview with Journalists on Monday, PRP Secretary Alhaji Musa Maigari said ”
As it stands, all positions in PRP have been filled. Primary elections are over, and every political party has concluded its primaries,” he said.

He further stated that the person behind the allegation has no link to PRP. “The man who raised these allegations is not even our member. It is laughable at this time when primaries are over, someone is talking about primaries or nomination forms.”

The Secretary insisted there is no record of any form transaction with Kwankwaso or his representatives at the party secretariat.

Maigatari noted that the claim appears ill-timed, coming after PRP concluded its primary elections for the next election cycle.

He urged members of the public to disregard “baseless rumors” and rely only on information from the party’s official channels.

By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

Former Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State on Tuesday opted for a no-case submission in his ongoing trial over alleged beach of national security.

The ex-governor made this known through his lawyer, Paul Erokoro, SAN, before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja, shortly after State Security Service, SSS, closed it case.

When the case was called, the DSS lawyer, Oluwole Aladedoye, SAN, informed the court that the prosecution would not be calling further witnesses in the matter.

Aladedoye said with the evidence led so far, the prosecution was satisfied that it had been able to establish the offences with which El-Rufai was charged.

Following the development, Erokoro notified the court that the defence planned to file a no-case submission, arguing that the prosecution had failed to establish sufficient evidence against the former governor.

He, therefore, sought two weeks to file the application, while the prosecution requested two weeks to respond.

Erokoro also applied for a variation of some of the bail conditions earlier granted to El-Rufai, describing them as stringent and difficult to meet.

He argued that the bail terms were too stringent, particularly the requirements for level 17 civil servants with properties in Maitama or Asokoro, as well as verification and attestation letters from the Kaduna State traditional council.

Aladedoye, however, opposed the request, insisting that qualified public officers who meet the conditions exist and urging the court to refuse the application.

Justice Abdulmalik, in her ruling, declined the application to vary the bail conditions.

The judge held that there are civil servants who own properties at the said location.

She adjourned the matter until Sept. 22 for the filing of the no-case submission and continuation of trial.

The DSS had sued El-Rufai after he claimed, during an Arise Tv interview, that he intercepted a telephone conversation involving the the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mr Nuhu Ribadu.

The ex-governor had alleged that the conversation, on the telephone, revealed instructions to security operatives to arrest him.

He linked the alleged directive to an incident at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport on Feb. 12 after his return from Cairo, Egypt.

Mr El-Rufai, who was arraigned on April 23 for allegedly intercepting the phone conversations of the telephone line of the NSA, pleaded not guilty to the five-count further amended charge.