Reps approve state police bill

The House of Representatives has passed the bill seeking the creation of state police, advancing a major constitutional reform aimed at decentralising Nigeria’s security architecture.

The proposal was approved on Thursday during plenary presided over by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, with 289 lawmakers voting in support, one voting against, while the Speaker abstained.

The session, however, was marked by tension and procedural disputes as lawmakers raised concerns over the timing and handling of the bill.

Shortly after proceedings began, a Kaduna lawmaker, Bashir Zubairu, raised a point of order, arguing that the committee report on the proposed state police was only distributed to members a few hours before the sitting.

He warned that lawmakers had not had sufficient time to review the document, questioning the fairness of proceeding with deliberations.

Despite the objections, the Speaker ruled him out of order, allowing debate and voting to continue.

As the House moved through clause-by-clause consideration, repeated attempts by some lawmakers to raise further objections were ignored.

The situation was further complicated when the Speaker announced that the electronic voting system was faulty, forcing the chamber to resort to manual voting based on attendance records.

Out of 290 members present, 289 supported the bill while only one voted against it, effectively sealing its passage.

The approval of the bill represents one of the most significant steps yet toward restructuring Nigeria’s policing system, though it still requires additional legislative and constitutional approvals before becoming law.