STATE POLICE: EKITI, KEBBI JOIN 13 STATES BACKING CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
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By ‘Balogun Ibrahim
The Ekiti and Kebbi State Houses of Assembly have endorsed the proposed constitutional amendment to establish state police, bringing the number of states supporting the initiative to 15.
While the Ekiti Assembly passed the bill, lawmakers in Kebbi adopted a resolution backing decentralised policing as part of efforts to address insecurity and improve the protection of lives and property.
Before the latest endorsements, 13 states — Osun, Edo, Oyo, Rivers, Zamfara, Kwara, Nasarawa, Ogun, Delta, Taraba, Cross River, Plateau and Enugu — had approved the proposed amendment.
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The constitutional alteration requires the support of at least 24 of Nigeria’s 36 state assemblies, representing a two-thirds majority.
In Kebbi, 20 lawmakers endorsed the proposal during Wednesday’s plenary, presided over by the Speaker, Salihu Dangoje.
The resolution followed deliberations on the proposal presented by the Chairman of the House Committee on Internal Security, Muhammad Garba Bena. Four members of the 24-member Assembly were reportedly absent due to official engagements.
Speaking after the session, Bena said the proposal was necessary to strengthen security operations and improve responses to security threats in Kebbi State and other parts of the country.
He explained that the proposed arrangement would allow state governments to establish their own police services and recruit personnel in accordance with the law.
“The establishment of state police will go a long way in strengthening security operations, improving responses to security threats and protecting lives and property in Kebbi State and Nigeria at large,” Bena said.
The Speaker subsequently announced the Assembly’s adoption of the resolution in support of establishing state police services.
In Ekiti State, the Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Babatunde Oke, confirmed the passage of the bill in a statement issued in Ado Ekiti on Wednesday.
Oke said the Speaker, Adeoye Aribasoye, had directed the Clerk of the House to transmit the document to the National Assembly, alongside observations made by the state legislature.
The bill, titled the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026, seeks to establish a constitutional framework for decentralised policing. It was passed during Wednesday’s sitting with the support of all 21 lawmakers present.
According to Oke, Aribasoye described state police as an issue that had remained at the centre of national debate for more than two decades.
The Speaker said the Assembly had an opportunity to formally express its position on the matter, stressing the need for an effective and responsive security system capable of addressing citizens’ concerns.
He noted that Nigerians had repeatedly raised concerns about delays in responding to distress calls, operational limitations and the distance between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve.
Aribasoye added that inadequate and poorly coordinated local policing in some areas had contributed to insecurity, disrupted education and livelihoods, weakened business confidence and eroded public trust.
He maintained that a properly structured state police system could improve accountability by bringing policing leadership and oversight closer to residents and their elected representatives, subject to constitutional safeguards.
The Speaker further argued that Nigeria could not afford unnecessary delays in addressing its security challenges, describing state police as a practical necessity rather than a theoretical option.
Oke also disclosed that the Committee of the Whole House had reviewed the proposed constitutional amendment clause by clause and recommended that the Assembly approve it, subject to an amendment to Section 317A(5).
The committee subsequently recommended concurrence with the bill, paving the way for Ekiti State’s formal endorsement of the proposed constitutional framework for state police.
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