…New Law Lays Out Powers of Governors, National and State Police Councils
By Abu Adamu
Fresh hopes of a more effective war against banditry, kidnapping and other violent crimes were ignited on Thursday as the House of Representatives approved a landmark constitutional amendment bill seeking to establish state police across Nigeria.
The proposed legislation, widely regarded as one of the most significant security reforms since the return to democratic rule, now heads to the Senate for concurrence before proceeding to state assemblies and ultimately the President for assent.
Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, who sponsored the bill and chairs the House Committee on Constitution Review, said the measure was designed to strengthen Nigeria’s security architecture and provide states with the tools needed to confront growing insecurity.
The development comes amid escalating attacks by bandits, terrorists and kidnappers across several parts of the country, including repeated assaults on schools, farming communities and highways.
Presenting the bill on the floor of the House, Kalu argued that the country’s security challenges had made the establishment of state police an urgent national necessity.
According to him, the constitutional amendment seeks to create a dual policing structure comprising a Federal Police and State Police, while also establishing State Police Service Commissions to oversee recruitment, discipline, and administration at the state level.
The proposal secured the backing of 289 lawmakers, clearing a major hurdle in the constitutional amendment process.
If eventually approved by the Senate and endorsed by at least two-thirds of the 36 State Houses of Assembly, the legislation will be transmitted to the President for assent.
Kalu said the reform would empower states to police their environments more effectively, improve response times to security incidents, and ensure a stronger security presence in local communities.
“With the implementation of this constitutional amendment, states will be empowered to effectively police their environment in curbing the menace of insecurity, improve response times to incidents, and ensure adequate presence of security personnel within communities,” he said.
Under the proposed framework, each state would be permitted to establish its own police service through legislation passed by its House of Assembly.
However, state police forces would only become operational after meeting national minimum standards prescribed by the National Assembly.
The Federal Police would continue to perform all policing functions in states that have yet to establish their own police services.
One of the most significant features of the bill is the constitutional protection against federal interference in state policing operations.
The proposal provides that the Federal Police shall not interfere in the operations of state police or a state’s internal security affairs except in clearly defined circumstances, including a complete breakdown of law and order, where a governor requests assistance, or where a state police force becomes incapable of functioning.
Even in such situations, approval must first be obtained from the National Police Council.
The proposed amendment also gives governors authority over state police commissioners, who would be appointed from serving officers on the advice of the National Police Council and confirmed by state legislatures.
At the federal level, the Inspector-General of Police would continue to head the Federal Police under the authority of the President.
To prevent abuse, both federal and state police chiefs would enjoy constitutional protections, making their removal subject to recommendations by the National Police Council and approval by two-thirds majorities in the relevant legislatures.
The bill further provides for federal grants and financial assistance to state police services, subject to recommendations by the National Police Council and approval by the National Assembly.
Security experts have long argued that Nigeria’s highly centralised policing system has become overstretched, particularly in the face of rising bandit attacks, rural insurgencies, and communal conflicts.
Supporters of state police believe local forces, staffed by personnel familiar with their communities, languages, and terrain, would significantly improve intelligence gathering and rapid response capabilities.
The proposed constitutional amendment also establishes a powerful National Police Council with representatives from federal and state governments, civil society organisations, professional bodies, labour unions, the media, and traditional institutions to oversee standards, training, discipline, and coordination between federal and state police services.
States would be allowed to enact their own policing laws and establish higher operational standards, provided such standards do not fall below nationally prescribed benchmarks.
If the bill completes the constitutional amendment process, it would mark a historic shift in Nigeria’s security framework and potentially reshape the country’s response to banditry, terrorism, kidnapping, and other violent crimes that have continued to threaten lives and livelihoods across the federation.