House of Representatives withdraws its State Police Bill to adopt Tinubu’s version

The House of Representatives has withdrawn its self-sponsored constitutional amendment bill seeking to establish state police, opting instead to concentrate on an executive-backed proposal submitted by the Presidency.

The decision was taken during Tuesday’s plenary session, a move that effectively consolidates legislative efforts to create a constitutional framework for state policing in Nigeria.

Following the withdrawal of its own draft, the Green Chamber immediately proceeded to consider the executive-sponsored State Police Bill, ensuring that deliberations on the long-awaited policing reform continue without delay.

The Presidency’s proposal successfully passed both its first and second readings during Tuesday’s sitting, marking a significant milestone in the legislative process.

After scaling the second reading, the bill was referred to the House Committee on Constitutional Review for further legislative work. The committee is expected to subject the proposal to detailed scrutiny, conduct public hearings with relevant stakeholders, and carry out a clause-by-clause examination before presenting its report to the House for further consideration.

The latest development effectively channels all legislative efforts on the establishment of state police into a single constitutional amendment process, eliminating the possibility of parallel bills on the same subject.

The move is also expected to simplify the legislative process by allowing lawmakers to focus on one comprehensive proposal as Nigeria continues to debate the merits and challenges of decentralizing policing.

If eventually passed by the National Assembly and approved by the required number of state Houses of Assembly, the constitutional amendment would pave the way for the establishment of state police, a reform many stakeholders believe could improve security by giving state governments greater control over law enforcement within their jurisdictions.

The committee stage is expected to provide an opportunity for security experts, civil society groups, traditional rulers, state governments, and other stakeholders to make inputs on the proposed legislation before it returns to the House for consideration and eventual passage.