The House of Representatives on Thursday passed a constitutional amendment bill seeking the establishment of state police, paving the way for the creation of a decentralised policing system in Nigeria.
The proposed amendment seeks to alter the 1999 Constitution to allow states to establish their own police forces, ending the current arrangement where policing is controlled mainly by the federal government through the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
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With insecurity continuing to plague communities across the country, lawmakers overwhelmingly backed a proposal to amend the Constitution and pave the way for the establishment of state police.
While the bill enjoyed near-unanimous support on the floor of the House, one lawmaker, Bashir Usman, broke ranks to oppose it.
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His objection was not necessarily against reforms to the security architecture, but centred on what he described as the rushed consideration of the constitutional review report and the limited time available for lawmakers to study its contents before voting.
Mr Usman, who represents the Birnin-Gwari/Giwa Federal Constituency of Kaduna State, became the only voice of opposition on the floor when he raised a point of order challenging the consideration of the report of the House Committee on Constitution Review.
Objection before the vote
For more than a decade, communities across Kaduna have grappled with bandit attacks, kidnappings, communal clashes and other violent crimes that have claimed hundreds of lives and displaced thousands of residents.
Given the security realities in his home state, many would have expected Mr Usman to support a proposal designed to bring policing closer to local communities.
Instead, he emerged as the only dissenting voice.
Rising on the floor of the chamber, Mr Usman warned that lawmakers could not make informed decisions on a document that had only just been circulated.
He argued that the report containing the proposed constitutional amendments was only made available to lawmakers shortly before the debate and that members had not been given adequate time to examine its provisions.
“Mr Speaker, we received this document this afternoon. We cannot know what is in this constitution review committee issue. Allow us to go back and study this book and come back and discuss about this issue.
“We should do justice to Nigerians. We should be afraid of what will happen to us,” Mr Usman said.
His objection was, however, overruled by the presiding officer, Abass Tajudeen, allowing the House to proceed with debate and consideration of the bill.
During the debate, the first-term federal lawmaker also questioned the readiness of existing security institutions to manage the proposed structure, arguing that the establishment of state police required deeper consideration because of Nigeria’s security challenges and the need to avoid creating additional problems.
He said security remained a national concern that required careful deliberation, stressing that existing security agencies and the proposed state police arrangement needed to be examined properly.
“We started talking about issue of insecurity two days back in this chamber. We invited the minister of finance, security agencies, and the inspector general of police. We have to resolve that issue.
“Our Nigerian security agencies, are they funded very well that they cannot be able to tackle the issue of insecurity?” he questioned.
Despite his reservations, the House advanced the bill, with lawmakers supporting the amendment as a response to rising cases of insecurity, including terrorism, kidnapping, banditry and other violent crimes across the country.
When voting eventually commenced, the level of support for the proposal became unmistakable.
A total of 290 lawmakers were present and participated in the vote. Of that number, 289 voted in favour of the constitutional amendment seeking the establishment of state police.
Only one lawmaker voted against it. That lone vote belonged to Mr Usman.
As lawmakers were asked to indicate their positions, Mr Usman raised his hand in opposition while virtually every other member in the chamber signalled support for the proposal.
Political background
Mr Usman is not new to legislative leadership. He previously served as Speaker of the Kaduna State House of Assembly during the administration of Governor Ahmed Makarfi, where he steered legislative affairs in the state.
READ ALSO: Senate passes state police bill, refers proposed law to Constitution Review Committee
He was elected to the 10th National Assembly in 2023 on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
However, he later resigned from the ruling party and joined an opposition platform, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), marking a significant shift in his political alignment ahead of his current tenure in the House of Representatives.
Whether his stance is viewed as a principled insistence on legislative scrutiny, a protest against the manner in which the amendment was considered, or outright opposition to the proposal itself, his vote ensured that he occupied a unique place in one of the most significant constitutional debates of the 10th House.
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