The House of Representatives has approved a constitutional amendment bill seeking the establishment of state police, marking a major step in ongoing efforts to restructure Nigeria’s internal security framework.
The proposal received overwhelming support during plenary, with 289 lawmakers voting in favour of the bill while only four opposed it.
The voting was conducted through a show of hands after the House’s electronic voting system reportedly experienced technical malfunctions, forcing lawmakers to adopt an alternative method.
The approval is being viewed as a significant milestone in Nigeria’s long-running debate over decentralised policing, an issue that has gained renewed urgency amid rising insecurity across several parts of the country.
Security challenges such as terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and armed violence have intensified calls for reforms to strengthen law enforcement capacity and improve response times at the subnational level.
Supporters of state police have consistently argued that allowing states to operate their own policing structures would enhance intelligence gathering, improve local knowledge of security threats and enable faster intervention during emergencies.
They also maintain that decentralisation would reduce pressure on federal security agencies, which are often overstretched across multiple regions with varying security demands.
With the latest approval in the lower chamber, the bill now proceeds further in the constitutional amendment process, where it will undergo additional legislative scrutiny and consideration by other relevant authorities.
The lawmakers said the reform formed part of broader efforts to modernise Nigeria’s security system and address evolving threats that require more locally responsive policing strategies.
If ultimately adopted, the amendment could represent one of the most significant changes to Nigeria’s policing structure since independence, potentially reshaping the balance of security responsibility between federal and state governments.
