The move to establish state police across Nigeria gathered fresh momentum today as the House of Representatives received the report of its Special Ad Hoc Committee on Constitution Review on the proposed constitutional amendment seeking to create state-controlled police services.
The report was presented by the Deputy Speaker and Chairman of the House Committee on Constitution Review, Benjamin Kalu, during plenary, paving the way for debate and clause-by-clause consideration by lawmakers.
Its presentation followed an executive session of the Constitution Review Committee on Monday, during which members harmonised the House’s position with the Senate’s version of the proposed legislation as part of the ongoing constitutional amendment process.
The proposed amendment seeks to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), to provide “a legal framework for the establishment, regulation and operation of state police services and other related matters.”
In line with parliamentary procedure, the report will be scheduled for consideration on a later legislative day, with the House Committee on Rules and Business expected to fix the date for debate and clause-by-clause consideration.
The proposal is among the most closely watched constitutional amendment bills before the National Assembly, coming amid sustained calls by state governments, security experts and civil society organisations for the decentralisation of policing to tackle Nigeria’s growing security challenges.
Supporters argue that state police would enhance intelligence gathering, strengthen community policing and enable faster responses to local security threats. Critics, however, have raised concerns about the potential for abuse by state governments and stressed the need for strong constitutional safeguards to prevent political interference.
Meanwhile, the House also adopted the report of its Committee on Police Affairs approving the 2025 and 2026 budget estimates of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund.
The report, presented by the Chairman of the House Committee on Police Affairs, Abubakar Yelleman, was considered and adopted during the Committee of Supply, presided over by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu.
For the 2025 fiscal year, lawmakers approved a budget of ₦170.11 billion for the Nigeria Police Trust Fund.
A breakdown of the estimates shows that ₦27.29 billion was allocated for capital expenditure at the Nigeria Police Trust Fund headquarters, while ₦132.45 billion was earmarked for capital projects for the Nigeria Police Force. The budget also provides ₦1.82 billion for personnel costs and ₦8.54 billion for overhead expenditure.
Similarly, the House approved ₦233.96 billion as the proposed budget of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund for the 2026 fiscal year.
The approved estimates include ₦43.78 billion for capital expenditure at the Nigeria Police Trust Fund headquarters, ₦179.11 billion for capital projects for the Nigeria Police Force, ₦1.86 billion for personnel costs and ₦9.21 billion for overhead expenditure.
The budget proposals are expected to proceed to a third reading on Wednesday before their final passage by the House.
Established under the Nigeria Police Trust Fund Act, the Nigeria Police Trust Fund provides additional financing for the training, equipment, logistics and welfare of the Nigeria Police Force. It complements the annual budgetary allocations to the police and is funded through contributions from the Federation Account, grants, donations and other statutory sources.
The increased allocations for the 2025 and 2026 fiscal years come amid renewed efforts by the Federal Government to strengthen internal security, modernise policing infrastructure and improve the operational capacity of the Nigeria Police Force.
