By Ghazali Ibrahim
The House of Representatives on Thursday passed the Executive Bill seeking to establish state police, in a major step towards restructuring Nigeria’s policing system.
The bill was approved during plenary after the House withdrew its own proposed constitutional amendment on state police in favour of the executive-sponsored legislation.
The move is widely seen as a significant milestone in efforts to decentralise Nigeria’s security architecture amid persistent challenges posed by banditry, kidnapping, terrorism and other violent crimes.
The Senate had earlier passed its version of the bill, bringing the country closer to adopting a dual policing system that would allow both federal and state governments to operate separate police services.
The proposed legislation will now proceed through the remaining constitutional processes before it can become law.
