The African Democratic Congress (ADC) on Tuesday strongly criticised the House of Representatives for what it described as a flawed and constitutionally deficient handling of the State Police Constitution Alteration Bill, insisting that Nigeria’s grundnorm cannot be amended by convenience or procedural shortcuts.
In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the opposition party accused the lower chamber of undermining the Constitution through reported irregularities in the voting process and inadequate legislative scrutiny.
While the ADC reiterated its support for the creation of state police as a necessary response to the country’s deepening insecurity, it maintained that no reform, however urgent or well-intentioned, should be allowed to bypass the strict procedures required for constitutional amendment.
According to the party, reports indicated that the constitutional threshold for passage was purportedly met by counting votes transmitted via WhatsApp from lawmakers who were absent from the chamber, as well as by including members who had merely signed the attendance register but were no longer present when the question was put. The ADC rejected this approach outright.
“The Constitution is not amended by convenience. It is amended through strict procedures that leave no room for improvisation,” the party declared. It argued that constitutional alteration demands openness, robust debate and unwavering fidelity to both the Constitution itself and the Standing Orders of the House—standards it said appeared to have been compromised in the consideration of the State Police Bill.
The ADC expressed particular concern that meaningful clause-by-clause examination of the legislation was curtailed and that constitutional objections raised during deliberations were not given the serious attention they deserved. Beyond the internal legislative process, the party highlighted the absence of adequate public scrutiny. Although the idea of state police has featured in previous constitutional review exercises, the current version of the bill, it argued, contains significant policy reforms that Nigerians have not been given a proper opportunity to interrogate through a dedicated public process.
Abdullahi stressed that the ultimate objective must go beyond the mere creation of another policing institution. “It is one thing to pass a Bill for political expediency. It is another thing to ensure that it actually solves the problem it was intended to solve,” he said. “The objective is not merely to establish another police institution. It is to reduce the insecurity that has devastated communities across the country.”
The party warned against the dangers of legislative manipulation and rushed constitutional change. Unless the bill is subjected to rigorous public examination, it cautioned, Nigeria risks enacting legislation that has survived only within the echo chamber of the ruling party rather than withstanding the searching questions of the Nigerian people. It recalled that the country has previously witnessed major laws and policies that later required amendments, reversals or policy somersaults precisely because they were not sufficiently interrogated before passage—a mistake it urged lawmakers not to repeat with an amendment of such fundamental importance.
The ADC therefore called on the House of Representatives to recommit the State Police Constitution Alteration Bill to a fresh, transparent and inclusive legislative process. “Nigeria deserves a State Police framework that commands public confidence because it has been properly debated, strengthened to guarantee the required outcome and protect against abuse before becoming part of our Constitution,” the party stated.
The intervention comes against the backdrop of persistent insecurity across several parts of the country, which has intensified longstanding debates about the centralisation of policing under the Nigeria Police Force. Successive administrations and political actors have proposed state or community policing structures as a means of bringing security closer to the people and improving responsiveness. Yet the ADC’s position underscores a deeper institutional concern, that the manner in which constitutional reform is pursued is as critical as the substance of the reform itself.
By insisting on procedural integrity, the party seeks to ensure that any eventual state police framework is not only legally sound but also enjoys the legitimacy and public trust necessary for effective implementation. Whether the House will heed the call for recommittal remains to be seen, but the ADC has drawn a clear line, constitutional amendment is not a matter of political convenience, and Nigeria cannot afford to treat it as such.
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