Nigeria’s House of Representatives has withdrawn its own proposed constitutional amendment seeking to establish state police, opting instead to advance the Executive’s version of the legislation in a move that signals a unified approach to one of the country’s most debated security reforms.
During plenary on Tuesday, lawmakers passed the Executive-sponsored constitutional amendment bill through its first and second readings, marking a significant step in the ongoing efforts to decentralise policing and strengthen Nigeria’s internal security architecture.
Following the withdrawal of its earlier proposal, the House referred the Executive’s bill to the House Committee on the Review of the Constitution for detailed legislative scrutiny and further consideration.
The development is widely seen as an attempt to streamline the legislative process and eliminate multiple versions of the same constitutional amendment, allowing lawmakers to concentrate on a single framework for the proposed creation of state police.
The establishment of state police has remained one of Nigeria’s most contentious constitutional issues, with proponents arguing that decentralised policing would enhance intelligence gathering, improve community-based security, and enable faster responses to criminal activities. Critics, however, have warned that without adequate constitutional safeguards, the system could be vulnerable to political interference and abuse by state governments.
The Committee on Constitutional Review is expected to examine the bill and engage relevant stakeholders before presenting its recommendations to the House for further legislative action.
