Meet The Identity Of Lawmaker Who Voted Against State Police
The House of Representatives last Thursday passed a constitutional amendment bill seeking to establish state police, paving the way for a decentralised policing system in Nigeria.
The Genius Media Nigeria understands that the proposed amendment seeks to alter the 1999 Constitution to allow states to establish their own police forces.
This would end the current arrangement in which policing is primarily controlled by the Federal Government through the Nigeria Police Force.
With insecurity continuing to affect communities across the country, lawmakers overwhelmingly supported the proposal to amend the Constitution and bring policing closer to the people.
The bill enjoyed near-unanimous support on the floor of the House.
However, one lawmaker, Bashir Usman, opposed considering the report before the vote was taken.
Usman, who represents Birnin-Gwari/Giwa Federal Constituency of Kaduna State, said his objection was not necessarily against reforming the security architecture but against what he described as the rushed consideration of the constitutional review report.
‘We Received Document This Afternoon’
Raising a point of order, Usman challenged the consideration of the report of the House Committee on Constitution Review.
He argued that the report containing the proposed amendments had only just been circulated to lawmakers and that members had not been given enough time to study its contents.
Usman said, “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 this issue.
“We should do justice to Nigerians. We should be afraid of what will happen to us.”
His objection was, however, overruled by the presiding officer, Tajudeen Abbas, allowing the House to proceed with debate and consideration of the bill.
During the debate, the first-term federal lawmaker questioned the readiness of existing security institutions to manage the proposed structure.
He said the establishment of state police required deeper consideration because of Nigeria’s security challenges and the need to avoid creating additional problems.
He further stated, “We started talking about the 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 funded very well, so they cannot tackle the issue of insecurity?”
289 Lawmakers Vote In Favour
Despite Usman’s reservations, the House advanced the bill. 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, while only one lawmaker voted against it.
The lone dissenting vote was cast by Usman.
As lawmakers were asked to indicate their positions, Usman raised his hand in opposition while virtually every other member in the chamber supported the proposal.
Usman’s opposition came despite the prolonged security challenges in Kaduna State.
For more than a decade, communities across the state have suffered bandit attacks, kidnappings, communal clashes and other violent crimes that have killed many residents and displaced thousands.
Given the situation in his home state, some observers had expected him to support the proposal designed to bring policing closer to local communities.
Usman’s Political Background
Usman previously served as Speaker of the Kaduna State House of Assembly during the administration of former Governor Ahmed Makarfi.
He was elected to the 10th National Assembly in 2023 on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He later resigned from the ruling party and joined the African Democratic Congress (ADC), marking a major shift in his political alignment.
