The House of Representatives has passed the State Police Bill, marking a major step towards restructuring Nigeria’s security framework and allowing states to establish their own police forces.
The proposed legislation seeks to amend relevant provisions of the Constitution to enable the creation of state police, a move supporters say will improve security coordination, enhance intelligence gathering, and allow law enforcement to respond more effectively to local threats.
The bill’s passage by the House represents a significant development in longstanding calls for police reform, with advocates arguing that Nigeria’s current centralised policing model has struggled to adequately address insecurity across the country’s diverse regions.
The proposal will now proceed through the next stages of legislative consideration, including review by the Senate and possible ratification by state assemblies before it can become law.
If enacted, state police would fundamentally alter Nigeria’s policing structure, shifting from the current central command system to a more decentralised model involving both federal and state-level security institutions.