ABUJA — Nigeria’s House of Representatives has voted overwhelmingly to pass a crucial bill establishing state-controlled police forces, marking a significant step toward decentralising the country’s security architecture.
During a plenary session on Thursday led by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, 289 lawmakers voted in favour of the constitutional amendment, while only one member voted against it. The speaker abstained from the vote.
The decision follows growing domestic pressure on parliament to address a severe escalation in banditry, mass kidnappings, and killings across the country in recent months. Supporters of the bill argue that local policing is essential to combatting regional insurgencies and criminal networks effectively.
However, the session was marked by procedural friction and protests from some legislators.
Shortly after proceedings began, Bashir Zubairu, a lawmaker representing a constituency in Kaduna State and a member of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), raised a point of order. Mr. Zubairu protested that the final document, prepared by the House Committee on Constitution Review, had only been distributed to members inside the chambers on Thursday afternoon.
“Mr Speaker, this document was only made available to lawmakers in the chambers, and we are yet to go through it,” Mr. Zubairu said. “We cannot do justice to it because we have not gone through it.”
Speaker Abbas ruled Mr. Zubairu out of order and pressed ahead with reviewing the bill’s clauses, ignoring subsequent shouts of dissent and further points of order from the floor.
The chamber also faced technical difficulties prior to the division. The speaker announced that the parliament’s electronic voting system was faulty, forcing officials to conduct the crucial vote manually using the physical attendance register.
While the overwhelming majority in the lower house signals strong political momentum for the reforms, the bill must still clear several legislative hurdles—including approval from the Senate and two-thirds of Nigeria’s state assemblies—before the constitution can be formally amended to allow for state police.
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