The House of Representatives on Thursday passed the Executive Bill seeking to establish state police, marking a major milestone in Nigeria’s efforts to decentralise its policing system and strengthen internal security.
The bill was approved during plenary after lawmakers withdrew an earlier constitutional amendment proposal on state police and adopted the Executive Bill as the preferred framework for the reform.
The latest development comes after the Senate had earlier passed its version of the legislation, bringing Nigeria a step closer to introducing a dual policing structure in which both the federal and state governments would operate separate police services.
The proposed reform has been widely debated for years, with supporters arguing that state police would improve intelligence gathering, enhance community policing and enable quicker responses to security challenges such as banditry, kidnapping and communal conflicts.
Opponents, however, have raised concerns over the potential abuse of state-controlled police by governors for political purposes, calling for strong constitutional safeguards to ensure accountability and operational independence.
With both chambers of the National Assembly now backing the proposal, the legislation represents one of the most significant security reforms in recent years and moves the country closer to adopting a decentralised policing system aimed at improving law enforcement and public safety across the federation.