Reps okay state police bill

Ebun Emmanuel – June 11, 2026

The House of Representatives on Thursday passed the State Police Bill, marking a major step toward the decentralisation of Nigeria’s policing system.

The decision followed a plenary vote in which 289 lawmakers supported the bill, one voted against it, while Speaker Tajudeen Abbas abstained. The session was convened to deliberate on the proposed reform amid rising cases of killings, kidnappings, and banditry across the country.

The plenary, however, was not without tension as lawmakers debated the process. Kaduna lawmaker Bashir Zubairu of the African Democratic Congress raised a point of order, expressing concern that the report on the bill from the House Committee on Constitution Review was only distributed on the day of the sitting.

Before the final vote, Speaker Abbas noted that the electronic voting system was not functional, leading to a manual count based on members’ attendance. Out of 290 lawmakers present, 289 voted in favour of the bill.