The House of Representatives has approved a constitutional amendment bill seeking the establishment of state police, in a major legislative step aimed at addressing Nigeria’s worsening security challenges.

The bill was overwhelmingly passed during a plenary session, with 289 lawmakers voting in support and just one voting against.

Voting was conducted by a show of hands after the House’s electronic voting system reportedly developed technical faults.

The development marks a significant milestone in ongoing efforts to decentralise policing in Nigeria and strengthen internal security amid rising incidents of terrorism, banditry, mass kidnappings, and other violent crimes across the country.

If eventually approved by the Senate and ratified by state legislatures, the amendment would pave the way for the creation of police structures controlled at the state level, a proposal that has long been debated in Nigeria’s security reform discourse.