Nigeria’s Senate has taken a major step toward boosting police funding, approving for second reading a bill that seeks to increase statutory remittance to the Police Trust Fund from 0.5 percent to 1 percent of federation account revenue.
The proposal, debated on Tuesday and led by Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, is designed to strengthen the financial backbone of the Nigeria Police Force as insecurity continues to intensify across the country.
Lawmakers say the bill responds to mounting security pressures, including insurgency, banditry, kidnapping, armed robbery, cybercrime, and communal clashes that have stretched police capacity.
Bamidele argued that chronic underfunding has left the police struggling with outdated equipment, poor infrastructure, weak training systems, and welfare challenges that affect morale and operational efficiency.
He described the bill as a structural fix aimed at creating a more predictable and transparent funding system for policing, reducing reliance on unstable annual budget allocations.
The proposed framework expands funding sources to include federation account revenue, development levies, government grants, donor support, and private sector contributions.
If passed, the law would finance modern policing tools such as digital surveillance systems, forensic technology, intelligence operations, facility upgrades, and emergency response capabilities, alongside improved officer welfare and training.
Senator Abba Moro supported the bill, calling it timely given the financial constraints affecting security agencies, while Senator Abdul Ningi stressed the importance of strict accountability to prevent mismanagement of funds.
However, concerns were raised over the legality of deductions from the federation account. Senator Adamu Aliero warned that broader consultations with state and local governments may be necessary to avoid constitutional conflict.
Senate Chief Whip Mohammed Monguno defended the proposal, insisting it aligns with constitutional provisions that empower the National Assembly to approve expenditure frameworks.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio, while backing stronger police funding, cautioned that any allocation must remain within the constitutional budget process and not operate as an independent deduction mechanism.
He confirmed that the bill will undergo further scrutiny at a public hearing before final decisions are made, and subsequently referred it to the Senate Committee on Police Affairs, which is expected to report back within two weeks.
