State Police Bill Advances as Reps Begin Clause-by-Clause Consideration

The House of Representatives has commenced consideration of President Bola Tinubu’s executive bill seeking to establish state police, signaling a major breakthrough in Nigeria’s decades-long push for a decentralized policing system.

Deputy Speaker of the House and Chairman of the Constitution Review Committee, Benjamin Kalu, disclosed on Monday that lawmakers would conduct a clause-by-clause review of the bill using the Senate-approved version as the primary working document, with only minor adjustments expected.

Kalu explained that both chambers of the National Assembly share similar positions on the proposed legislation, noting that the Senate introduced only a few amendments, including provisions on interpretation, transitional arrangements and implementation.

He described the State Police Bill as one of President Tinubu’s signature constitutional reforms, recalling that the President had consistently championed multi-layered policing since his tenure as Governor of Lagos State.

According to Kalu, the proposed legislation is aimed at addressing Nigeria’s worsening security challenges, including terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and communal clashes, through improved intelligence gathering and community-based policing.

The House had earlier passed its own state police amendment bill in June but later rescinded the decision following the transmission of the President’s executive proposal, paving the way for a harmonised approach with the Senate.

If approved by both chambers, endorsed by at least two-thirds of the 36 State Houses of Assembly and signed into law by President Tinubu, the bill would mark one of the most significant policing reforms since Nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1999.

Supporters of the initiative argue that state police will enhance security response across the federation, while critics have called for safeguards to prevent political misuse by state governments.