Nigeria’s House of Representatives has approved a constitutional amendment that would pave the way for the creation of state police forces.
The bill was passed during Thursday’s plenary after lawmakers voted by a show of hands, following the failure of the electronic voting system.
The process was overseen by the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, who directed the sergeant-at-arms to manually count votes amid protests from some members who repeatedly shouted, "this is wrong."
Before deliberations began, Usman Zubairu, who represents Birnin Gwari/Giwa federal constituency in Kaduna State, raised a point of order, arguing that legislators required more time to study the report.
"It is an issue that all of us have to sit down and look into it," he said.
Abbas, however, cut in to say the proposal had already been widely debated within the chamber and was ready for a decision.
Presenting the report, Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, who also chairs the House Committee on Constitution Review, said tackling insecurity remained a pressing national priority.
Kalu told lawmakers the proposal had passed through a public hearing process and attracted broad support nationwide.
"There is a national consensus that state police will improve response time. We should make this constitution review a legacy," he said.
At the end of voting, Kalu initially announced that 289 members supported the bill, while four voted against it.
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Abbas later clarified the figures, stating that 289 lawmakers voted in favour, one abstained, and none voted against the measure.
Under Nigeria’s current constitutional framework, policing and other security services are controlled exclusively by the federal government.
The amendment seeks to move those powers from the exclusive legislative list to the concurrent list, allowing both the National Assembly and state assemblies to legislate on policing.
If enacted, the proposal would see the National Assembly retain responsibility for defining the structure, organisation, administration and powers of the federal police, while also setting national standards for the establishment of state police forces.
States would only be permitted to launch police outfits after passing enabling laws through their houses of assembly and securing certification that minimum national standards have been met.
The bill further provides that the federal police would continue operating in any state until a state police force becomes functional.
Even after that point, federal officers would retain responsibility for federal policing duties and may support state police where required by law.
While the amendment limits federal interference in state police operations, it allows intervention in exceptional circumstances, such as a total breakdown of law and order, a formal request from a state governor, or where a state police force becomes unable to function due to administrative or financial constraints.
Any such action would require approval from the National Police Council (NPC)
The proposal also specifies that the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) will remain under the jurisdiction of the federal police.
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