By Joy Yesufu and Kamsi Anayo
The House of Representatives on Tuesday shelved its own constitutional amendment seeking to establish state police in Nigeria.
The House has opted to consider a new bill sent to the National Assembly by President Bola Tinubu through the Executive.
The decision came during plenary as lawmakers passed the Executive-sponsored bill through first and second readings, effectively putting the House’s earlier proposal on hold.
The bill was subsequently referred to the House Committee on Constitutional Review for further legislative work, where its key provisions will now be scrutinised.
The move signals a strategic alignment with the Executive’s approach to the contentious state police debate, though it remains unclear whether the House version will be entirely abandoned or merged with the Executive proposal at the committee stage.
State police has been a recurring demand from many state governors and regional stakeholders who argue that the current centralised policing structure is inadequate to tackle rising insecurity across the country.
However, critics have raised concerns about potential for abuse by state governors and the financial burden on state governments.
The Executive bill is now expected to undergo clause-by-clause consideration by the constitutional review committee, with lawmakers from both chambers weighing the fiscal and operational implications of decentralising Nigeria’s police force.
It was not immediately clear whether the Senate is considering its own version of the bill or will await the House’s final output before acting.
The development comes as insecurity continues to dominate national discourse, with banditry, kidnapping and terrorist activities spreading across several states, fuelling renewed calls for sub-national police forces.
