Reps Pass State Police Bill in Landmark Vote on Security Reform

The House of Representatives has passed the State Police Bill, clearing a major hurdle in the push to decentralise Nigeria’s policing system amid growing concerns over insecurity, banditry and kidnappings across the country.

The resolution followed a vote during Thursday’s plenary presided over by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, with 289 lawmakers supporting the bill and only one voting against it.

The House had dedicated the sitting to consideration of the proposed state police framework following months of escalating violence, including killings, kidnappings and bandit attacks in several parts of the country.

Proceedings, however, were marked by controversy.

A lawmaker representing Kaduna State, Bashir Zubairu, raised a point of order, arguing that members had only received the report of the House Committee on Constitution Review shortly before the session.

“Mr Speaker, this document was only made available to lawmakers in the chambers, and we are yet to go through it. We cannot do justice to it because we have not gone through it,” Zubairu said.

The lawmaker, a member of the African Democratic Congress, was ruled out of order, allowing deliberations to continue.

As the Speaker guided members through the bill’s provisions, several lawmakers were heard raising points of order, but the process proceeded uninterrupted.

Before voting commenced, Abbas announced that the electronic voting system was faulty and directed that the exercise be conducted based on attendance records.

Of the 290 lawmakers present, 289 voted in support of the bill, while one member opposed it. The Speaker abstained from voting.

The passage marks one of the most significant legislative steps toward the creation of state-controlled police forces, a reform long advocated by governors, security experts and community leaders who argue that decentralised policing would improve intelligence gathering and response times.

The bill is expected to move to the next stage of the constitutional amendment process before becoming law.