House of Representatives Passes State Police Bill, Adopts 18 Constitutional Amendment Clauses

The House of Representatives has passed the state police bill and adopted 18 constitutional amendment clauses, moving one of Nigeria’s longest-running security reform debates further through the legislative process.

The proposal is aimed at creating a constitutional framework for policing at state level, a demand that has grown louder as communities across the country face kidnapping, banditry, communal attacks and slow federal security response times.

Supporters argue that state police would give governors and local authorities more direct tools to respond to insecurity in their areas. They say officers recruited locally may understand terrain, language and community networks better than personnel posted from outside.

Opponents and cautious lawmakers have often warned that any state police structure must include safeguards against political abuse, weak funding, ethnic targeting and conflict between federal and state commands. Those concerns are part of why the debate has dragged on for years.

The adoption of 18 clauses does not mean state police has already become law. Constitutional amendments still require further legislative steps and approval by the required number of state assemblies before they can take effect.

Still, the House vote is significant because it shows growing parliamentary acceptance that Nigeria’s current policing model is under strain and may need a deeper constitutional redesign.

Governors and regional leaders have pushed the idea repeatedly, arguing that a centralised police structure cannot respond quickly enough to local threats. Civil society groups have also urged lawmakers to balance speed with accountability so that new police powers do not become tools for political intimidation.

The next phase will test whether the proposal can survive the difficult amendment route. To alter the constitution, support in Abuja is not enough; state assemblies must also agree, making the debate both a national-security issue and a federalism test.

Sources: Punch, TheNiche, Apex News