BREAKING: Senate passes State Police Constitutional Amendment Bill

The Senate on Wednesday passed the constitutional amendment bill seeking the establishment of state police services across Nigeria, marking a major milestone in the country’s efforts to decentralise policing and strengthen internal security.

The legislation, titled “A Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to Provide for the Establishment of State Police and Related Matters (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026 (SB. 1055),” was approved after consideration by the Committee of the Whole.

The bill provides a constitutional framework for a dual policing system that will allow states to establish and operate their own police services alongside a federal police structure.

Under the proposed arrangement, the current Nigeria Police Force framework would be replaced with a Federal Police Service operating alongside State Police Services across the federation.

The Senate’s approval followed extensive deliberations on the general principles of the bill before it successfully scaled the required legislative stages.

The proposed legislation was transmitted to the National Assembly by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as part of ongoing efforts to reform Nigeria’s security architecture and address growing security challenges across the country.

In a letter dated June 15 and read during plenary by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, the President explained that the amendment seeks to create a constitutional basis for state policing and strengthen security management at the sub-national level.

According to the proposal, the new policing structure is expected to boost community-based policing, improve intelligence gathering and enhance responses to local security threats.

The passage of the bill by the Senate is being viewed as a significant breakthrough in the ongoing constitutional review process and in national conversations surrounding policing reforms.

However, the amendment must still secure the approval of at least two-thirds of the 36 State Houses of Assembly before it can be transmitted for presidential assent and become part of the Constitution.

The development comes amid increasing calls from state governments, security experts and other stakeholders for the decentralisation of Nigeria’s policing system to tackle insecurity more effectively and improve law enforcement efficiency across the country.