Nigeria’s proposed state police system has moved closer to implementation after 24 of the 36 State Houses of Assembly approved the Constitution (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026, meeting the constitutional threshold for the amendment.
Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu and Chairman of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, Femi Gbajabiamila, announced the development in a statement on Friday, October 23.
The approval satisfies the requirement under Section 9(2) of the 1999 Constitution for at least two-thirds of state assemblies to endorse a constitutional amendment. The bill has also been passed by both chambers of the National Assembly.
Gbajabiamila said the amendment could now return to the National Assembly for onward transmission to President Tinubu for assent. However, the approval threshold does not mean the proposed policing system is already operational.
The amendment is designed to establish a dual policing structure comprising a Federal Police Service and State Police Services, allowing states to develop their own policing arrangements alongside the federal system.
The development follows the National Assembly’s transmission of the constitutional amendment to the 36 state legislatures on September 16 for consideration and approval.
Meanwhile, the working group disclosed that the draft National Policing Bill, 2026, alongside 29 consequential amendment bills, was submitted to the Federal Ministry of Justice on October 19 for legislative drafting review and validation.
The ministry is expected to return the documents by October 30, after which the group will conduct a final review before presenting them to the President.
Supporters of state police argue that decentralising policing could improve local intelligence gathering and strengthen responses to security threats, including kidnapping, banditry and communal violence. However, concerns remain over political interference, accountability, funding and the protection of citizens’ rights.
The working group has urged stakeholders to support a smooth transition to the proposed system, which the Federal Government says is intended to improve public safety across the country.