House of Reps opposition lawmakers.
The constitutional amendment bill seeking to establish State police in the country was Thursday passed by the House of Representatives.
The bill, earlier transmitted to the green chamber by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on July 14, was approved after a clause-by-clause consideration in the committee of the whole, presided over by Tajudeen Abbas, the Speaker.
The lower legislative chamber had passed the State police bill on June 11, but later rescinded its decision.
Francis Waive, Chairman of the committee on rules and business, who moved a motion for the House to withdraw the proposed legislation, said new facts emerged regarding the bill’s provisions, necessitating a critical review of its clauses to ensure alignment with the country’s national security architecture.
Moving a motion for the consideration of the bill during Thursday’s plenary, Benjamin Kalu, Deputy Speaker and Chairman of the House committee on constitution review, described the proposed piece of legislation as a landmark step towards addressing Nigeria’s worsening insecurity.
Kalu praised Tinubu for transmitting the bill to the House, saying the President had consistently championed decentralised policing since serving as Governor of Lagos State and had demonstrated leadership by working with the legislature on the reform.
He said the amendment aimed to bring policing closer to communities, strengthen intelligence-gathering, improve coordination among security agencies, and empower governments at all levels to respond more effectively to the country’s evolving security challenges.
He acknowledged that the bill might not satisfy every stakeholder but argued that constitutional reform was inherently incremental.
The Deputy Speaker said the amendment established the constitutional framework for State police, while subsequent legislation would address issues relating to recruitment, training, accountability, operational standards, oversight and coordination among Federal and State security institutions.
He added that Tinubu had already constituted a committee to work on the implementation framework.
Said Kalu: “We must not allow the pursuit of perfection to become the enemy of meaningful progress”.
He urged lawmakers to support what he described as a historic reform capable of strengthening Nigeria’s security architecture and deepening federalism.
Before the House considered the bill clause by clause, Abbas announced that 311 lawmakers were in support of the legislation, comprising 211 members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), 65 lawmakers from other opposition parties, and 35 members participating virtually.
Subsequently, Fred Agbedi, Minority Leader of the House, and other opposition lawmakers repeatedly sought to raise points of order.
However, Abbas did not recognise them.The Speaker proceeded with clause-by-clause consideration but, after reading only the first three clauses, declared that the remaining provisions had been adopted.
Opposition lawmakers protested that the remaining clauses had neither been read nor subjected to consideration before they were adopted.They subsequently walked out of the chamber in protest.
Section 9(2) of the 1999 constitution states that any bill seeking to alter the constitution must be supported by votes of not less than two-thirds of all members of each chamber of the National Assembly before it can proceed to the State Houses of Assembly.
Speaking with journalists after the walkout, Afam Ogene, Spokesperson of the minority caucus, accused the House leadership of disregarding both the constitution and the standing orders governing constitutional amendments.
He argued that attendance for such proceedings should be determined through the official register signed by lawmakers on each legislative day, not figures announced by the presiding officer.
Ogene said the constitution remained the supreme law from which the House rules derive their authority, adding that the refusal to entertain constitutional points of order undermined the integrity of the legislative process.
He said the minority caucus had prepared detailed amendments to several clauses of the bill but was denied the opportunity to present them because the clauses were adopted without debate.
Speaking also, Agbedi said the minority caucus was not opposed to the creation of State police, adding that its objection was strictly procedural.
He cited the House Standing Orders, which require each clause of a constitutional amendment bill to be approved by a two-thirds majority during consideration in the committee of the whole.
Agbedi held that every clause ought to have been subjected to a vote, with the votes counted individually.
The Minority leader faulted Abbas for ruling him out of order without first hearing his point of order, saying the action denied the opposition the opportunity to raise constitutional objections.
Agbedi, who was flanked by his colleagues, questioned how the House could claim to have secured the constitutionally required votes after opposition lawmakers had walked out.
He noted that constitutional amendments could not be validly determined through a voice vote because there was no official record of how individual lawmakers voted or whether the required threshold was attained.
The ranking lawmaker insisted that the Minority had intended to vote in favour of the State police bill but wanted the House to comply with constitutional provisions and allow lawmakers propose amendments during clause-by-clause consideration.
Said he: “We are not against state police. We are against the abuse of due process”.
Agbedi added that failure to follow constitutional procedures diminished the credibility of parliament and weakened Nigeria’s democratic institutions.
