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…as Deputy Speaker, Regional leaders declare House united on security reform

By Gloria Ikibah

The House of Representatives has intensified its push for the establishment of state police, declaring that lawmakers are prepared to take decisive legislative action to address Nigeria’s worsening security challenges.

Addressing journalists alongside zonal and caucus leaders of the House, Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu said the National Assembly was determined to complement the efforts of the Executive through constitutional reforms that will strengthen policing and improve response to insecurity across the country.

The bill sponsored by Deputy Speaker Kalu and 14 other lawmakers, was passed on February 20, 2024, it seeks to transfer “Police” from the “Exclusive Legislative List ” to the “Concurrent Legislative List”, effectively empowering states to have state to have state-controlled policing.

It proposes 16 alterations to the constitution and introduces a comprehensive framework to ensure cohesion accountability,  and uniform standards between the federal police and state police.

The bill also seeks to establish State Police Service Commission as distinct from the Federal Police Service Commission with clearly defined roles and jurisdictions.

Kalu argued that while Parliament had continued to exercise its oversight powers by summoning security chiefs and government officials, lawmakers must also deploy legislative solutions to tackle the root causes of the nation’s security crisis.

The Deputy Speaker noted that the House had always positioned itself as a platform where national challenges are debated and practical solutions developed through legislation.

He said: “When we say that security of lives and property is a primary purpose of government, what do the executive think that that particular section refers to? Does it consign the three arms of government? And if yes, what is the executive doing? While we call them to order as Parliament and as allowed by Sections 88 and 89 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended, the question becomes, have we done our part in regards to the expectation of 88 and 89 as it consigns legislative functions?

“We have always referred to the Parliament, the House of Representatives, as the solution hub where hydra-headed problems of the country are presented and solutions given to them in security and legislative tool to cure it.

“Whilst we call the chief service chiefs to come and meet with us to dialogue, while we call ministries of finance, budget office and all the others, there is the need for us to use legislative tool to block the car.”

Kalu praised members of the constitutional amendment committees and regional leaders of the House, describing them as the driving force behind the ongoing efforts to reform the nation’s security architecture.

“These men here are the real leaders of the House of Representatives who have been working night and day.

“When I mean night and day, I mean literally night and day.”
According to him, lawmakers have concluded that the current constitutional framework governing policing is inadequate to meet the security expectations of Nigerians.

“We have discovered that leaving the law as it is will not give us that expectation that all Nigerians have placed in the expectation basket with regards to curing the issue of insecurity.

“Therefore, we decided to prioritise the issue of unbundling security-related problems, response time through the legislative tool of legislation, targeting policing”, he said.

He disclosed that consultations on state policing had attracted broad support from critical stakeholders, including the Inspector-General of Police, governors and the Executive arm of government.

The Deputy Speaker argued that constitutional provisions, particularly Section 214 and related clauses, would need to be amended to pave the way for state police.

“And we said as it is today, the structure which has been agreed to by the IGP and his team, national consensus has also arisen on it, the executive have bought into it, the governors have bought into it, that there is the need for state police.

“The Constitution as it is, especially Section 214 and other consequential amendments in that particular Constitution, would not birth the state police that will guarantee what we’ll be looking for in the space of security.”

Kalu revealed that the House will move to vote on the constitutional amendment proposals, with state police placed high on the agenda.

He added that the announcement was intended to reassure Nigerians that lawmakers across the six geopolitical zones and the Federal Capital Territory were united in support of the proposal.

“So we are here to announce to Nigerians that hope is coming, that hope to have a better response time to incidents of crime is here, that we have decided, do talk, that by tomorrow we’ll be voting on the Constitution and in that we’ll be prioritising state police.

“This is us telling our supporters, our constituents across the nation, that your leaders are represented here, that the six caucus leaders, including the FCT 37, they are here, regional leaders and zonal leaders are here and all of us are together on this mission.

Dismissing reports suggesting that efforts were underway to frustrate the proposal, the Deputy Speaker insisted that the House remained firmly committed to the reform.

“The Speaker has asked us to come and address Nigerians to assure them that hope is coming and there is nobody stopping us from going ahead with state police.
“We’ve read a lot of things on the news that people are trying to stop it. No, the Parliament is marching forward and by tomorrow we’ll be concluding on this”, he noted.

Expressing confidence in the next phase of the constitutional amendment process, Kalu said lawmakers expected strong support from state governors and Houses of Assembly once the proposal leaves the National Assembly.

“This is what we have come to inform you that hope is here and by tomorrow state police will make it in our constitutional amendment.

“We are hoping that by the time we finish tomorrow it will be going to the states and because we have seen the body language of the governors of these 36 states, which is in support of state police, they will work hand in hand with their Houses of Assembly to ensure that it is returned back to Mr President for his assent as quickly as possible”, he added.

The Deputy Speaker also issued an urgent appeal to lawmakers currently carrying out oversight assignments across the country to return to Abuja for the vote.

“We’re also using this opportunity to invite our members who are currently handling oversight function across Nigeria. Let them cut it short and fly in. It’s an emergency situation.

“They should cut it short and fly in tomorrow. We want all our members to be in the House so that will show our constituents that we are in support of state police and that security is priority on our list”, he said.

The proposed state police framework remains one of the most closely watched constitutional amendment initiatives before the National Assembly, with supporters arguing that decentralised policing will improve intelligence gathering, strengthen local security responses and help address the country’s persistent insecurity challenges.

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Abuja Electricity Distribution Company has announced an electricity outage in parts of the Federal Capital Territory and Nasarawa State.

AEDC disclosed this in a notice on Wednesday.

The disco said the outage is due to a technical fault on the transmission company of Nigeria (TCN) 132kV Apo – Karu – line 1.

Consequently, bulk electricity supply has been disrupted in areas in Abuja and Nasarawa, including in Karu, Nyanya, Jikwoyi, Kurudu, Orozo, Karshi, Mararaba, Ado, New Nyanya, New Karu Uke, Masaka, Auta Balaifi, Keffi, Nasarawa Toto, Akwanga, Nasarawa Eggon, and environs.

The disco, however, assured electricity restoration.

“The technical team of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) is currently working to restore power supply around 3:00 pm today, 10th June 2026.

“We regret the inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your patience and understanding,” AEDC stated.

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Referee Omar Artan has vowed to officiate at the 2030 World Cup after arriving home in Somalia following his ban from entering the United States.

Hundreds of people gathered at the Mogadishu Airport to give a warm welcome to Omar Artan.

Some in the crowd carried banners with supportive slogans while others wore specially made hats bearing pictures of the referee, who has quickly become an icon in his homeland.

There were also social media celebrities who posed for photos with Artan and live-streamed the welcome on their platforms.

Amid the celebratory reception, there was also visible anger that the first Somali appointed as a World Cup referee had been denied entry to the United States.

The 34-year-old – Africa’s referee of the year in 2025 – was set to be the first Somali to referee at a World Cup finals but was denied entry at Miami International Airport on Monday despite holding a diplomatic passport and a single entry US visa.

No reason for his repatriation has been given by US immigration authorities, but Somalia is one of several countries on a travel ban list introduced by President Donald Trump.

He arrived back in Somalia on Wednesday, landing at Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu where he was greeted by government officials and representatives of the Somali Football Federation, as well as fellow referees and local residents.

Artan is expected to attend a public event at Mogadishu Stadium later on Wednesday afternoon and watch a match between Heegan and Dekadaha.

“I’d like to thank the officials, ministers, MPs and everyone. I want to thank my country and people for their support. The encouragement I received here, I know I’ll get more support outside [the airport],” Artan said, translated into English by the BBC.

“Everything is pre-destined. Fifa supported me well and were in touch with me until I reached Mogadishu.

“I promise you that I’ll be officiating in the next World Cup. Somalia, everywhere, I’m letting you know.”

Artan, who was named the Confederation of African Football (Caf) men’s referee of the year in 2025, was one of 52 referees selected for the tournament.

However, his “dream” came crashing down as he attempted to travel to the on-pitch officials’ base in Florida, with Artan telling the New York Times, external he had faced an 11-hour immigration interview and was detained for several hours before be was put on a flight back to Istanbul, Turkey.

Speaking to BBC World Service, Andrew Giuliani, who leads the White House Task Force on the World Cup, said: “While I can’t go into the derog [derogatory information] on that I can tell you it was the right decision by customs and border patrol and I support that decision.”

It was not possible for Artan to stay outside the United States and referee matches played in Canada or Mexico, with all on-pitch officials based in Florida for training, preparation, and security.

Trump placed a full entry ban under any visa category for 12 countries, including Somalia, in June 2025.

Two days before the World Cup draw in December 2025, Trump drew widespread attention for comments made about Somalia in the lead up to a planned immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota, which has a large Somali community.

“With Somalia, which is barely a country, you know, they have no anything,” he said.

“They just run around killing each other. There’s no structure.”

He added that Somali immigrants should “go back to where they came from” and that the US would “go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage to our country”.

On arriving home, Artan urged Somalia’s youth not to lose hope in their country in the face of his treatment, stating: “Let’s all defend Somalia’s honour. We all belong to Somalia whether it’s bad or good.

“That flag is ours and so is the passport – let’s defend it.

“The youth shouldn’t be demoralised about their country. Despite this happening to me, I’ll still stand for my nation.

“I want to continue my journey from here and urge the youth to do the same.”

For his part, Artan was very happy with the welcome he received. The determined look on his face backed up the statements he has made about continuing his career and he told friends that he is ready to start training right away.

After the press conference, he was given a grand farewell. Thousands more people are expected to greet him at the Mogadishu Stadium on Wednesday afternoon. Another hero’s welcome is on the cards.