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Opposition lawmakers stage walkout as Reps pass state police bill
The House of Representatives has passed the constitutional amendment bill seeking to establish state police, with 311 lawmakers voting in support, therefore meeting the constitutional requirements of two-thirds majority.
The passage of the bill was however not without protest from members of the minority caucus who alleged lack of due process in the consideration of the bill, staging a walkout thereafter.
The deputy speaker who doubles as chairman of the house committee on constitution review, Benjamin Kalu, urged members to support the bill, before the house proceeded to electronic and virtual voting.
With 311 members voting in favour of the bill, meeting two-thirds majority required for a constitutional amendment, the minority caucus led by the minority leader, Fred Agbedi, staged a walkout, citing procedural disagreement and constitutional breaches with the bill’s passage.
While the minority caucus addressed a news conference, claiming support for the bill and the same time expressing displeasure with the process, the chairman of the house committee on defence, Babajimi Benson, defended the process.
The house also passed a bill establishing the Federal College of Fisheries Technology and Marine Engineering in Rivers State and thereafter adjourned plenary to September 15, 2026.
The Nigerian Senate had in June passed the same bill seeking to establish state-controlled police in the country.
The bill sought to amend the 1999 Constitution to provide for the establishment of state police services across the federation.
The constitutional amendment which has now been passed by both chambers of the National Assembly would alter the existing framework of the Nigerian Police Force, making it a dual structure — a Federal Police Service and State Police Services.
