Mirian Gom 
Nigeria House of Representatives
ABUJA, Nigeria – The House of Representatives has passed the State Police Bill, marking a major step toward the decentralisation of Nigeria’s policing system amid growing concerns over insecurity across the country.
The bill secured overwhelming support during Thursday’s plenary session presided over by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, with 289 lawmakers voting in favour of the proposal.
The development follows increasing calls for policing reforms in response to persistent incidents of kidnapping, terrorism, banditry and communal violence in several parts of the country.
Proceedings were briefly disrupted when a lawmaker representing Kaduna State, Bashir Zubairu, raised concerns that members had insufficient time to review the report prepared by the House Committee on Constitution Review before voting.
According to Zubairu, the document was distributed to lawmakers shortly before plenary commenced.
“Mr. Speaker, this document was only made available to lawmakers in the chambers today and many members are yet to properly study it,” he argued.
However, the Speaker ruled the objection out of order and directed that the voting process continue.
While lawmakers considered the various provisions of the bill, several members attempted to raise procedural objections, but deliberations proceeded uninterrupted.
Before voting commenced, Abbas informed lawmakers that the electronic voting system had developed technical issues and that voting would therefore be conducted based on attendance records.
Out of the 290 lawmakers present, 289 voted in support of the bill, while one member voted against it. The Speaker abstained from voting.
Advocates of state policing have argued that decentralising law enforcement would improve intelligence gathering, strengthen community-based security responses and enhance accountability.
Supporters also believe state-controlled police formations would be better positioned to address local security challenges and respond more effectively to emerging threats.
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