The House of Representatives has approved the Constitution Alteration Bill seeking to establish State Police across Nigeria, despite protests and a walkout by members of the minority caucus.
The lawmakers opposed the passage of the bill, arguing that the proposed legal framework required further refinement and that the constitutional amendment process had not been fully adhered to.
The bill, titled “A Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to Provide for the Establishment of State Police Services and for Related Matters,” secured the constitutionally required two-thirds majority during consideration by the House on Thursday.
The proposed legislation was transmitted to the National Assembly by President Bola Tinubu as part of the Federal Government’s efforts to decentralise policing and strengthen Nigeria’s security architecture in response to persistent insecurity across the country.
If harmonised with the version passed by the Senate, endorsed by at least two-thirds of the 36 State Houses of Assembly and signed into law by the President, the amendment will provide the constitutional foundation for the establishment of State Police Services nationwide.
Presenting the report of the House Committee on Constitution Review, Deputy Speaker and Committee Chairman, Benjamin Kalu, described the proposal as one of the most far-reaching constitutional reforms in Nigeria’s security sector.
Kalu commended President Tinubu for forwarding the executive bill to the National Assembly, describing it as evidence of productive collaboration between the executive and legislative arms of government.
According to him, the amendment is intended to bring policing closer to local communities, enhance intelligence gathering, strengthen community-based policing and enable state governments to respond more effectively to emerging security challenges.
