BREAKING: House of Reps passes State Police Bill

By Tolulope Oke

The House of Representatives on Thursday passed the State Police Bill, paving the way for the decentralisation of Nigeria’s policing architecture.

The resolution followed a plenary vote in which 289 lawmakers voted in favour, while one voted against and the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, abstained.

The voting took place during a session called to consider the bill following a spike in killings, kidnappings, and banditry across the country in recent months.

The plenary was not without drama. Kaduna lawmaker Bashir Zubairu, of the African Democratic Congress, raised a point of order, claiming that the document on the proposed state police, prepared by the House Committee on Constitution Review, was only made available to members on the day of the session.

“Mr Speaker, this document was only made available to lawmakers in the chambers, and we are yet to go through it. We cannot do justice to it because we have not gone through it,” Zubairu said.

The Speaker ruled the point out of order and proceeded to take members through the clauses. Despite intermittent shouts of “Point of Order” from the chamber, the presiding officer continued with the debate.

Before the vote, Abbas noted that the electronic voting system was faulty, and the exercise was conducted based on attendance. Out of 290 members present, 289 supported the bill.

The passing of the State Police Bill marks a major step toward reforming Nigeria’s security architecture and responding to growing public concerns over rising insecurity.

Further details and implications of the bill are expected to be released in due course.