From Victor Osula, Abuja
The National Assembly has intensified efforts to establish state police as part of a broader strategy to tackle Nigeria’s worsening security crisis, with the House of Representatives declaring an emergency legislative action and recalling members from nationwide oversight assignments for a crucial vote on the constitutional amendment bill.
The move comes amid renewed waves of killings, kidnappings, bandit attacks and other violent crimes across several parts of the country, prompting lawmakers to prioritise reforms aimed at decentralising policing and improving response to security threats.
The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and Chairman of the House Committee on Constitution Review, Benjamin Kalu, announced on Wednesday that lawmakers would vote on the constitutional amendment bill seeking the establishment of state and local police formations.
Speaking at a media briefing shortly after plenary, Kalu said the House had resolved to place the state police proposal above other constitutional amendment bills because of the urgent need to address the country’s deteriorating security situation.
According to him, all members currently outside Abuja carrying out oversight functions have been directed to immediately suspend their engagements and return to the National Assembly for Thursday’s voting session.
Kalu said the legislature had concluded that existing constitutional provisions were inadequate to effectively tackle contemporary security challenges and that urgent legal reforms were required.
“When we say that security of lives and property is the primary purpose of government, the question becomes whether we as legislators have done our part through legislation to support that constitutional responsibility”, he said.
Kalu noted that while lawmakers had consistently engaged security chiefs, financial authorities and relevant government agencies through oversight functions and investigative hearings, there was a growing need to deploy legislative tools to strengthen the country’s security framework.
“We have discovered that leaving the law as it is will not give us that expectation that all Nigerians have placed in the basket with regards to curing the issue of insecurity. Therefore, we decided to prioritise the issue of unbundling security-related problems and response time through the legislative tool of legislation, targeting policing”, he said.
The Deputy Speaker disclosed that extensive consultations had already been held with major stakeholders, including the Inspector-General of Police, governors and officials of the executive arm of government, all of whom he said support the proposed state policing framework.
“As it is today, there is a structure which has been agreed to by the Inspector-General of Police and his team. National consensus has also agreed on it. The executive has bought into it, and the governors have bought into it, that there is the need for state police”, he stated.
Kalu argued that constitutional provisions, particularly Section 214 of the 1999 Constitution, which centralises policing under the Federal Government, would have to be amended to pave the way for state police formations. He assured Nigerians that the constitutional amendment process was on course and dismissed reports suggesting that some interests were attempting to frustrate the proposal.
“We are here to announce to Nigerians that hope is coming; that hope to have a better response time to incidents of crime is here. We have decided that by tomorrow we will be voting on the constitution and prioritising state police. The Speaker has asked us to assure Nigerians that hope is coming and there is nobody stopping us from going ahead with state police. The Parliament is marching forward”, he said.
Kalu also expressed confidence that the amendment would receive swift approval from state legislatures once transmitted by the National Assembly.
“We have seen the body language of the governors of the 36 states, which is in support of state police. They will work hand in hand with their Houses of Assembly to ensure that it is returned to Mr President for assent as quickly as possible”, he added.
The House’s action follows a similar commitment by the Senate, which has also indicated its readiness to approve the state police proposal this week.
Speaking during a press conference in Abuja on Monday, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, who serves as Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Constitution Review, revealed that the committee’s final report on state police would be presented to the Senate for consideration before the end of the week.
Bamidele said the National Assembly had reached a consensus to accelerate passage of the amendment and transmit it to the states without further delay.
“We came to a conclusion that we are going to pass the constitutional amendment in respect of making provision for state police, and if I can tell you as of today, that will come to fruition this very week because there is no need to allow any further delay”, he said.
According to him, lawmakers have in recent weeks held a series of meetings with President Bola Tinubu, Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Lateef Fagbemi, Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Disu and other critical stakeholders to fine-tune the proposed framework.
He disclosed that once approved by the National Assembly, the amendment would be transmitted to the 36 State Houses of Assembly, where it must secure endorsement by at least 24 states before being forwarded to President Tinubu for assent.
“The President is also with us and I am sure he cannot wait for the bill to come to him for assent”, Bamidele said, adding that most governors and state legislatures were already favourably disposed to the proposal.
The push for state police has gathered momentum amid persistent insecurity across the country and longstanding calls by governors, security experts and civil society groups for a decentralised policing structure. The proposal was among the major recommendations of the 2014 National Conference convened during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
In the absence of a constitutional framework for state policing, several regions have established local security outfits such as Amotekun in the South-West, Ebube Agu in the South-East and Hisbah in parts of Northern Nigeria to complement federal security agencies.
However, the proposal has continued to generate debate, with critics warning that state police could be abused by governors to harass political opponents and suppress dissent if adequate safeguards are not put in place.
To address such concerns, Senate President Godswill Akpabio recently disclosed that the proposed framework includes the establishment of a National State Police Commission to regulate recruitment, training, promotion, discipline and operational standards of state police formations nationwide.
If successfully passed and ratified by the required number of state assemblies, the amendment would represent one of the most far-reaching security reforms in Nigeria since the return to democratic rule in 1999.
