The Federal Government has expanded the circumstances under which it can intervene in the operations of state police forces in the Executive Bill on state policing transmitted to the National Assembly by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The House of Representatives had earlier passed its own State Police Bill during the ongoing constitutional amendment exercise.
Speaker Tajudeen Abbas announced yesterday that the House would withdraw its version to enable lawmakers consider the Executive Bill which he described as “more robust and comprehensive.”
He spoke at the opening ceremony of the 2026 National Assembly Open Week and the unveiling of the Third-Year Legislative Scorecard of the 10th House of Representatives in Abuja.
Abbas noted that the Executive Bill was produced by a committee inaugurated by President Tinubu and chaired by the Chief of Staff to the President and former Speaker of the House Femi Gbajabiamila.
He explained that the House would withdraw the bill he passed to give expedited consideration to the new proposal from the executive.
“I am able to share a development that speaks to the seriousness with which this administration regards the safety of Nigerians. His Excellency the president has now transmitted to the National Assembly an Executive version of the State Police Bill, one that is more robust and more comprehensive than the version this House earlier passed.
“The House will therefore recall the version it earlier passed, and accord the Executive Bill the expedited consideration that a matter of this urgency deserves,” the speaker stated.
He assured Nigerians that the proposed legislation would undergo public hearing and scrutiny before passage.
He said safeguards would be incorporated to prevent abuse of state police structures, noting that states would be required to meet strict conditions before establishing their own police services.
Key changes introduced by the executive bill
A comparative analysis of the Executive Bill and an earlier State Police Bill passed by the House of Representatives shows that the Presidency is seeking broader constitutional powers to step into the affairs of state police services, while also introducing stricter safeguards to prevent abuse of such intervention.
The proposed legislation allows the Federal Government to intervene not only when there is a breakdown of law and order beyond the capacity of a state police service or at the request of a governor, but also where there is evidence of widespread human rights violations, partisan policing, ethnic or religious persecution, or threats to national security.
Whereas the House bill provides that the Federal Police shall maintain public security across the federation and within states “to the extent provided for under this Constitution”; the Executive Bill expressly reserves federal policing for national issues.
“The Federal Police Service shall be responsible for federal policing functions, including the enforcement of laws of the Federation, policing of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, protection of federal institutions and assets, and policing matters with inter-State, international, organised-crime, terrorism, cybercrime, arms-trafficking, border-security, national-security or other federal dimensions.”
One of the most significant departures is the clear division of responsibilities between the Federal Police Service and State Police Service.
It states that in section 214(5) “The Federal Police Service shall be responsible for federal policing functions, including the enforcement of laws of the Federation, policing of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, protection of federal institutions and assets, and policing matters with inter-State, international, organised-crime, terrorism, cybercrime, arms-trafficking, border-security, national-security or other federal dimensions.”
The Executive Bill equally gives state police clearly defined local responsibilities, providing in section 214(6) that:
“A State Police Service shall, within the State for which it is established, be responsible for the enforcement of laws of the State, the maintenance of public safety and public order, the prevention and detection of offences within its policing competence, the protection of life and property.”
The House version contains no such detailed constitutional allocation of policing functions.
