The House of Representatives will on Thursday, June 11, vote on a constitutional amendment seeking the creation of state and local government police as lawmakers intensify efforts to address Nigeria’s worsening security challenges.
Deputy Speaker of the House and Chairman of the House Committee on Constitution Review, Benjamin Kalu, disclosed this during a media briefing after plenary in Abuja.
Kalu said the proposed amendment has been prioritised ahead of other constitutional review bills because of the urgent need to strengthen security across the country.
According to him, lawmakers currently on oversight assignments outside Abuja have been directed to suspend such activities and return to the National Assembly for Thursday’s voting session.
The bill seeking to establish state police is sponsored by Kalu and 14 other members of the House.
Speaking on the significance of the proposal, the Deputy Speaker expressed optimism that the measure would improve the country’s capacity to tackle crime and insecurity more effectively.
“Hope is coming. The hope of having better response time to incidents of crime is here,” he said.
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Kalu stressed that the House remains determined to advance constitutional reforms aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s security architecture despite concerns in some quarters that the proposal could face obstacles.
He also expressed confidence that once the amendment secures approval from the National Assembly, it will receive support from state governors and state Houses of Assembly, enabling its transmission to President Bola Tinubu for assent.
Describing the security situation as a national emergency, Kalu urged lawmakers to participate in the vote and demonstrate their commitment to finding lasting solutions to insecurity.
“We want all our members to be in the House so that we can show our constituents that we are in support of state police and that security remains a priority on our agenda,” he said.
The renewed push for state policing comes amid increasing calls from security experts, governors and civil society groups for a decentralised policing system capable of improving intelligence gathering, reducing response times and enhancing security management at the grassroots level.
Supporters of the proposal argue that state police would complement existing federal security agencies and provide a more localised response to crimes such as banditry, kidnapping, terrorism and communal violence that continue to affect many parts of the country.