Reps Vote 289-1 for State Police as Senate Also Backs Bill

The House of Representatives on Thursday voted overwhelmingly to advance a constitutional amendment bill establishing state police across Nigeria, in what analysts have described as one of the most significant security reforms undertaken by the 10th National Assembly.

Only one lawmaker voted against the bill out of 290 members present during plenary, reflecting near-unanimous legislative support for a measure that proponents say is long overdue given the country’s deteriorating security landscape.

The proposed legislation seeks to amend relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution to allow states establish and operate their own police services alongside the existing Nigeria Police Force. Its passage comes amid persistent insecurity across the federation, including banditry, kidnapping, terrorism, and communal violence that critics argue a centralised policing structure has proven ill-equipped to contain.

Supporters of state police have long maintained that governors, as chief security officers of their states, require direct authority over policing to be effective. They contend that locally recruited officers would possess deeper knowledge of their communities and respond more swiftly and effectively to security threats.

Opponents, however, have raised concerns that state police formations could be weaponised by governors for political purposes, particularly during elections and periods of heightened political tension. Lawmakers backing the bill countered that robust constitutional safeguards could be built into the legislation to prevent such abuses.

In the Senate, lawmakers — particularly those from the North — similarly threw their weight behind the bill. Chief Whip Senator Tahir Monguno (APC, Borno North) argued that establishing state police would also help curb the unchecked proliferation of vigilante groups operating across the country. The bill’s sponsor emphasised that the legislation was designed to modernise Nigeria’s security architecture by creating distinct federal and state police structures, strengthening internal stability at the grassroots level.

Having cleared the House, the bill must now secure concurrence from the Senate and the approval of at least two-thirds of state Houses of Assembly before it can be transmitted to the President for assent.