Nigeria, June 11 -- A bill seeking to establish state police passed the second reading in the Senate on Wednesday.

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the passage of the bill during Wednesday's plenary after a majority of senators supported it through a voice vote.

After the passage, the bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Constitution Review, chaired by the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, for further legislative scrutiny, including the conduct of public hearings to gauge public opinion on the proposed state police system.

The bill, sponsored by the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, seeks to devolve policing powers to subnational governments to strengthen Nigeria's internal security architecture.

The propo...