Reps Pass State Police Bill
The House of Representatives on Thursday passed the State Police Bill, a major step toward decentralising Nigeria's policing system amid growing concerns over insecurity across the country.
The bill secured overwhelming support during plenary presided over by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, with 289 lawmakers voting in favour and only one voting against the proposal.
The development followed weeks of heightened debate over the need for state controlled policing as Nigeria continues to grapple with rising cases of killings, kidnappings and banditry.
Proceedings, however, witnessed a brief disagreement when a lawmaker representing Kaduna State, Bashir Zubairu, raised a point of order, arguing that members had only received copies of the report prepared by the House Committee on Constitution Review shortly before the sitting.
According to him, lawmakers had insufficient time to study the document before voting on such a significant constitutional matter.
The Speaker overruled the objection and allowed the process to continue.
As deliberations progressed, some lawmakers attempted to raise additional points of order, but the Speaker proceeded with the consideration of the bill's provisions.
Before voting commenced, Abbas informed members that the electronic voting system was not functioning, prompting the House to adopt a manual voting process based on attendance.
Of the 290 lawmakers present during the session, 289 voted in support of state police, while one member opposed the proposal. The Speaker did not cast a vote.
The passage of the bill marks a significant milestone in ongoing efforts to reform Nigeria's security architecture and enhance the capacity of states to tackle local security challenges. The proposal is expected to undergo further constitutional processes before becoming law.
