STATE POLICE BILL CLEARS HURDLE AS 28 ASSEMBLIES GIVE APPROVAL
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By ‘Balogun Ibrahim
The National Assembly has secured the approval of 28 State Houses of Assembly for the proposed constitutional amendment seeking to establish state police, surpassing the constitutionally required threshold for the bill to proceed to the next stage of the amendment process.
The Clerk to the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday, confirming that 28 states had approved the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Sixth Alteration) Bill, which seeks to establish State Police Services and address related matters.
According to Ogunlana, the number of approving states exceeds the constitutional requirement of 24, representing at least two-thirds of the 36 State Houses of Assembly, as stipulated in Section 9 of the 1999 Constitution.
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He explained that the bill was transmitted to all 36 state legislatures on September 16, 2026, for consideration and approval, with a request that their decisions be communicated to the National Assembly within 30 days.
Although the deadline expired on October 15, Ogunlana said his office would continue receiving approval reports from state legislatures until the bill was forwarded for presidential assent.
“Following the receipt and verification of the reports, the Office confirms that 28 State Houses of Assembly have approved the bill,” the statement partly read.
He added that the Office of the Clerk had conducted administrative verification of the reports and accompanying Votes and Proceedings to authenticate the decisions communicated by the respective state legislatures.
Ogunlana also clarified that Section 9 of the Constitution does not expressly require a Third Reading for a Constitution Alteration Bill, unlike the procedure applicable to ordinary bills.
“In view of the approvals secured from the required number of State Houses of Assembly, the necessary administrative processes are being undertaken to facilitate the transmission of the bill to His Excellency, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, for assent,” he added.
The development marks a significant milestone in the prolonged debate over the decentralisation of Nigeria’s policing structure, with advocates of state police arguing that state governments need greater control over security operations to tackle crimes and emerging threats within their jurisdictions.
Nigeria currently operates a centralised policing system under the Nigeria Police Force, with operational command and control vested in the Federal Government.
Calls for the establishment of state police have intensified amid persistent security challenges, including kidnapping, banditry, terrorism, communal violence and other criminal activities across the country.
Proponents argue that state-controlled police formations would strengthen intelligence gathering, promote community-based policing and enable security agencies to respond more swiftly to threats at the grassroots.
However, critics have expressed concerns that governors could use state police formations to intimidate political opponents, violate civil liberties or settle political disputes.
The proposed constitutional amendment is expected to establish the legal framework for State Police Services while defining their relationship with the existing federal policing structure.
The National Assembly commended the state legislatures for their cooperation in the constitutional amendment process, describing the development as an important step towards strengthening Nigeria’s security architecture and deepening its federal system.
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