Chairman of the Senate Committee on Interior, Senator Adams Oshiomhole (APC, Edo North), has warned against what he described as the Senate's growing tendency to serve as a "rubber stamp," voicing strong opposition to the establishment of a training institute for the Police Service Commission (PSC).
Oshiomhole's objections came during plenary on Wednesday as the Senate passed the Police Service Commission Training Institute (Establishment) Bill, 2025 (SB. 564). The bill, which seeks to establish a dedicated training institution for PSC personnel, was read for the third time and passed following a report by the Senate Committee on Police Affairs.
During the debate, Oshiomhole took a critical stance, questioning the necessity and rationale behind creating a training institute for a body he described as limited in staff and operational scope.
"This house can't rubber stamp everything, Mr. President," Oshiomhole said. "We must be careful with the duplication of institutions that add no real value. The PSC employs only a few people-who exactly are we establishing this institute to train?"
The former Edo State governor argued that the country should prioritize investing in the training of actual police officers rather than a commission whose role is primarily regulatory and administrative.
"Let's invest in training men and women of the Nigeria Police Force, not a commission that might sometimes not even exist," he added. "We already have the Ministry of Police Affairs. Now we're duplicating roles with the PSC?"
However, Senator Yunus Akintunde (APC, Oyo Central), who presented the committee's report, clarified that the PSC is a constitutionally established body distinct from both the police force and the ministry.
"The Police Service Commission was not scrapped to create the Ministry of Police Affairs," Akintunde said. "This bill is about enhancing the oversight capacity of the PSC, not duplicating existing institutions. Countries like Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, and Canada have similar institutes."
Akintunde explained that the proposed institute will serve as a global forum for civilian oversight of police activities, adding that Nigeria, with a police force of over 250,000 personnel, stands to benefit from the training and capacity-building the institute will offer.
Supporting the bill, Senator Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi Central) reminded his colleagues that the bill had already passed public hearings and earlier stages of legislative scrutiny.
"This is not the time for debate," Ningi said. "The arguments raised, as valid as they may be, should have been made earlier. We've gone beyond that. The Senate must follow due process."
Despite Oshiomhole's opposition, the Senate passed the bill, bringing Nigeria closer to establishing a dedicated institution for training PSC personnel on oversight functions and policy standards related to policing and law enforcement.
The bill now awaits concurrence from the House of Representatives and eventual presidential assent.
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