State Police Bill to reach Tinubu for assent today — Reps

By Gift Chapi Odekina, Abuja ABUJA — The State Police Bill, seeking to decentralise policing responsibilities between the Federal and state governments, will be transmitted to President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday for assent. The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, disclosed this while presiding over plenary, following the approval of the proposed constitutional amendment by 29 of the 36 State Houses of Assembly.

Kalu expressed excitement over the endorsement of the proposed police reform by more than two-thirds of the state legislatures, describing the development as a major step towards the establishment of state police in Nigeria. “The State Police Bill has received the backing of 29 State Assemblies. Later today, the Clerk to the National Assembly will transmit it to the President for assent,” he said.

The approval by the state assemblies marks a significant milestone in efforts to amend the Constitution to allow states to establish and manage their own police forces alongside the Nigeria Police Force. The proposed reform is aimed at addressing concerns over Nigeria’s centralised policing structure, which critics argue limits the capacity of security agencies to respond effectively to local security challenges.

Under the proposed arrangement, state governments would have greater responsibility for policing within their jurisdictions, while the Federal Government would retain its own police structure. The reform is expected to allow states to develop policing strategies tailored to their security needs, with the aim of strengthening intelligence gathering, community-based security and responses to crime.

The transmission of the bill to the President marks the next stage in the constitutional amendment process, following its passage by the National Assembly and approval by the required number of state legislatures. The proposed establishment of state police has remained a major issue in Nigeria’s security reform debate, with supporters advocating decentralised policing as a means of improving security management across the country.