Senate passes state police bill for second reading amid protests, moves to clause-by-clause voting

The Senate on Wednesday passed the controversial State Police Bill for second reading despite concerns raised by several lawmakers over funding, oversight and the potential abuse of the proposed security architecture.
The landmark bill, an executive proposal of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu sponsored by Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, has now progressed into the Committee of the Whole where senators are currently considering it clause by clause.
In a dramatic twist, senators abandoned their earlier decision to conduct voting through a manual roll-call process that would have required each lawmaker to publicly declare his or her position.
Instead, after debate on the general principles...