The house of representatives has rescinded its decision on the passage of the state police bill.
The lower legislative chamber withdrew its earlier approval of the proposed legislation after Francis Waive, chairman of the committee on rules and business, moved a motion to reconsider the bill.
Waive said new facts have emerged regarding the bill’s provisions, necessitating a critical review of its clauses to ensure alignment with the country’s national security architecture.
He said the house needed to reverse its June 11 decision and dissolve the conference committee established to harmonise the proposed legislation with the senate’s version.
The development followed the reading of a correspondence from President Bola Tinubu by Tajudeen Abbas, speaker of the house, during Tuesday’s plenary.
“I am delighted to present to the house of representatives for consideration the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Alteration) (State Police) Bill, 2026, which seeks to amend the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to create a constitutional pathway for the establishment of State Police Services,” the letter reads.
The president said the bill “builds on the significant work already done in this regard by the house of representatives and incorporates additional safeguards to ensure that the creation of a dual policing structure to address our nation’s evolving national security challenges can be achieved quickly and effectively to the benefit of all Nigerians”.
Tinubu said the bill is a critical component of his administration’s strategy to reorganise Nigeria’s security architecture and strengthen the protection of citizens.
The president added that he looked forward to the “expeditious consideration” of the bill by the parliament.
Subsequently, the house considered Tinubu’s version of the bill, passing it through first and second readings.
The senate passed the state police bill on June 24, a day after Senate President Godswill Akpabio read a correspondence from Tinubu seeking the approval of the policing framework.
Currently, policing and other government security services established by law fall exclusively under the federal government’s purview.
The proposed legislation, however, seeks to move policing powers from the exclusive legislative list to the concurrent legislative list, to empower both the national assembly and state houses of assembly to legislate on policing and other security matters.
Under the bill, the national assembly would prescribe the structure, organisation, administration and powers of the federal police, while also establishing the framework and guidelines for the creation of state police services.
The proposed legislation stipulates that no state police service may commence operations unless it is established by a law enacted by the state’s house of assembly and certified to meet national minimum standards prescribed by an act of the national assembly.
If passed by the house, the constitution alteration bill would be transmitted to the 36 state houses of assembly.
At least 24 state assemblies must approve the bill before it can be sent to Tinubu for assent.
