ABUJA - Nigeria moved a step closer to state policing on Thursday after the House of Representatives passed the long-awaited state police bill.
The decision was taken at plenary in Abuja. It marks one of the biggest shifts in the country's security structure since 1999.
The session was presided over by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas. The report that led to the vote was presented by the Deputy Speaker and Chairman of the House Committee on Constitution Review, Hon. Benjamin Kalu.
Kalu told his colleagues that Nigeria can no longer run a centralised policing system in the face of terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other violent crimes. He urged them to back the reform.
The voting was done manually. Members raised their hands to show their position.
At the end of the exercise, 289 lawmakers voted in support of the bill. One member voted against it, while no abstention was recorded in the final count announced by the Speaker. The chamber had over 290 members present, meeting the constitutional quorum.
The bill is titled, A Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to Provide for the Establishment of State Police and for Related Matters (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026.
According to House Spokesman Rep. Akin Rotimi, the bill contains 18 clauses. It seeks to alter Sections 214 to 216 and other related provisions of the 1999 Constitution that currently make the Nigeria Police Force the only police force in the country.
What the bill will change is clear. It will create a dual policing system in Nigeria.
There will be a Federal Police that will continue to operate at the national level. There will also be State Police that can be created by individual state governments.
Under the proposal, no state can start its own police immediately after the constitution is amended.
Every state must first pass its own law through its House of Assembly. That state law must then be certified to have met the minimum national standards that will be set by the National Assembly.
Until a state meets those conditions, the Federal Police will continue to handle policing in that state.
The bill also explains how the new system will work. Governors will be empowered to appoint a State Commissioner of Police on the advice of the Nigeria Police Council. The appointment will be subject to confirmation by the State House of Assembly.
Governors can also issue lawful directives on public safety and maintenance of law and order. However, if a Commissioner believes such a directive is unlawful, he can refer it to the Police Council whose decision will be final.
To prevent abuse, the bill limits when the Federal Police can intervene in state matters. That will only happen when there is a complete breakdown of law and order that the state police cannot contain, when a governor formally asks for help, or when a state police formation becomes inoperative due to administrative or financial challenges.
This is not the end of the road for the bill.
The Senate has already passed the same bill through second reading and referred it to its Ad-hoc Committee on Constitutional Review. After concurrence by both chambers, the bill will still need the approval of at least 24 State Houses of Assembly to become law.
For many Nigerians, this vote reflects years of calls for local policing. For lawmakers, it is a signal that the House is ready to decentralise security while keeping national unity and accountability intact.
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