The House of Representatives on Thursday adopted the report on the proposed establishment of state police and approved 18 constitutional amendment clauses as part of ongoing efforts to reform Nigeria’s governance and security architecture.
The resolutions were reached during plenary presided over by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, who led lawmakers in considering recommendations from the House Committee on Constitution Review.
Central to the deliberations was “A Bill for an Act to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 to provide for the establishment of state police, and for related matters (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026.”
The proposed legislation seeks to create state and community policing structures as a response to growing security challenges across the country, including terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, and other violent crimes.
Speaking during the session, Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, who chairs the House Committee on Constitution Review and co-sponsored the bill alongside 14 lawmakers, described the proposal as a critical step toward strengthening national security.
According to Kalu, the concentration of policing authority at the federal level has limited effective responses to local security threats. He argued that state police would improve response times and enable communities to benefit from officers with knowledge of local languages, cultures, and terrain.
“National security has become the House’s top priority. This proposal has gone through all legislative stages, including a public hearing, and is now due for voting,” Kalu said.
Speaker Abbas explained that the House prioritised consideration of the security-related constitutional amendment due to its urgency.
“We are only picking one that pertains to security and it is for obvious reasons. We cannot continue to delay this consideration,” Abbas stated.
The House commenced consideration of the report after suspending its rules to revisit the presentation of reports from the Committee on Constitution Review. At the time, 290 lawmakers were present.
Due to technical issues affecting the electronic voting system, the House conducted voting manually. Following consideration by the Committee of the Whole, 289 lawmakers voted in support of the state police bill, while four voted against it.
The House subsequently reverted to plenary, where the bill was adopted by a voice vote. Speaker Abbas announced that the legislation had been passed, with only one member abstaining.
Following its adoption as a working document, the Clerk of the House read the bill’s long title for the third time, after which lawmakers formally passed the legislation.
The state police proposal has generated extensive national debate, with supporters arguing that decentralised policing will enhance security and local accountability, while critics have expressed concerns about possible political interference and abuse by state governments.
President Bola Tinubu had previously expressed support for the creation of state police, describing it as a measure capable of improving national security and addressing emerging security challenges across the federation.