By Tracy Moses
The proposed establishment of state police in Nigeria has moved closer to becoming a constitutional reality, with 29 of the 36 State Houses of Assembly approving the constitutional amendment bill, paving the way for its transmission to President Bola Tinubu for assent.
The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, disclosed this on Wednesday while presiding over plenary, describing the development as a significant milestone in efforts to decentralise the country’s policing system.
Kalu said the Clerk to the National Assembly would transmit the bill to the President later in the day for assent.
“The State Police Bill has received the backing of 29 State Assemblies. Later today, the Clerk to the National Assembly will transmit it to the President for assent,” he said.
The approval by 29 state legislatures exceeds the constitutional requirement of at least two-thirds of the 36 State Houses of Assembly, representing 24 states, for an alteration to the 1999 Constitution.
The development followed the passage of the proposed amendment by both chambers of the National Assembly and its subsequent transmission to the state legislatures for consideration and ratification.
The Senate passed the proposal in June, while the House of Representatives approved it in July. The National Assembly subsequently forwarded the bill to the 36 state assemblies on September 16, 2026, for the constitutionally required approval.
On Tuesday, the Clerk to the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana, confirmed that 28 state assemblies had approved the proposal after his office received and verified their reports and accompanying Votes and Proceedings.
Ogunlana said the verification was necessary to authenticate the approvals and ensure that the records accurately reflected the decisions of the respective legislatures.
The additional approval announced by Kalu on Wednesday brought the number of endorsing state assemblies to 29.
The amendment, contained in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026, seeks to provide constitutional backing for the establishment of State Police Services alongside the existing Nigeria Police Force.
Under the proposed arrangement, state governments would be empowered to establish and manage police services within their respective jurisdictions, while the Federal Government would retain the existing federal police structure.
The proposed reform is aimed at addressing longstanding concerns about the limitations of Nigeria’s centralised policing system, particularly its capacity to respond effectively to security threats across the country’s diverse geographical and social landscape.
Under the current arrangement, the Nigeria Police Force is centrally controlled by the Federal Government, leaving state governments largely dependent on federally controlled police formations to maintain law and order within their territories.
Proponents of state police argue that the existing structure places excessive demands on a single national police institution and limits the ability of state authorities to respond swiftly to security threats peculiar to their communities.
They maintain that decentralised policing would bring law enforcement closer to the people, strengthen intelligence gathering and enable security responses to reflect local realities.
The debate has gained renewed momentum amid persistent security challenges, including banditry, kidnapping, terrorism, communal violence and other criminal activities across the country.
However, the proposed reform has also raised concerns about possible political interference, abuse of authority, funding and the protection of citizens’ fundamental rights.
Critics have particularly questioned how state police institutions would be insulated from political manipulation, given the considerable influence governors wield over security-related decisions in their states.
Other concerns relate to recruitment standards, operational independence, inter-agency cooperation, funding arrangements and mechanisms for investigating complaints against police officers.
Consequently, the establishment of an effective accountability framework has emerged as a critical consideration in the debate over decentralising policing in Nigeria.
The Clerk to the National Assembly had earlier explained that the transmission process was being handled in accordance with the Acts Authentication Act, Cap A2, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
Although the endorsement by 29 state assemblies satisfies the constitutional threshold for the amendment, the reform does not automatically translate into the immediate commencement of state police operations. The remaining constitutional procedures must be completed, while the necessary legislative, administrative and institutional frameworks must be established to guide their operations.
If fully implemented, the reform would represent a major shift in Nigeria’s policing architecture, introducing a dual policing structure that gives state governments greater responsibility for tackling security challenges within their jurisdictions while retaining the federal police system.