Senate passes police fund bill

The Senate has passed the Nigeria Police Trust Fund Bill.

The passage followed the  presentation of a concurrence report by Leader of the Senate, Sen. Ahmad Lawan, at plenary on Tuesday.

One of the major objectives of the bill is to improve funding for the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).

In his remarks, the President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, said the National Assembly had fulfilled its promise to pass the bill before expiration of the 8th Assembly.

He said: “By passing this bill, we will be creating big strides towards providing and improving security and policing in our country.

“One of the major concerns has always been the issue of funding. We believe that this bill will provide the funding needed for training and recruitment.

“I am confident that by the time we lay the report on the Police Reform Bill, we would have gone a long way in moving the police in the right direction.

“It is our view that once we have these police bills as laws, we will relieve the burden on the military, so that it can focus on its constitutional responsibility,” Saraki said.

The Police Trust Fund Bill, has also been passed by the House of Representatives.

It aimed to providing a  legal framework for the management and control of the special intervention funds established under the Act for the training of personnel of the NPF.

The trust fund would  also be utilised to enhance the skills of the personnel of the Police in order to ensure their efficiency, overall performance, and constant improvement while they performed their duties.

In addition, the trust fund would be used to ensure that the NPF had the necessary operational equipment, instructional materials, police stations and living quarters.

With the passage by the Senate, the bill is ready to be transmitted to President Muhammadu Buhari for assent.