Nigeria’s proposed state police system has moved closer to reality after 24 State Houses of Assembly approved the constitutional amendment required to establish decentralised policing, meeting the two-thirds threshold stipulated by law.
The latest approvals came amid a flurry of legislative activity across the country, with the Ekiti, Benue, Imo and Anambra State Houses of Assembly among those endorsing the proposed reform.
The Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu and chairman of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, Femi Gbajabiamila, confirmed on Friday that the amendment had secured the required backing from 24 state legislatures.
In a statement issued by the working group, Gbajabiamila said the approval satisfied the constitutional requirement for the proposed alteration to proceed to the next stage.
The Constitution (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026, had earlier been passed by both chambers of the National Assembly before being transmitted to the 36 state legislatures for consideration.
Under Section 9(2) of the 1999 Constitution, a constitutional amendment must receive the support of at least two-thirds of the State Houses of Assembly, representing 24 states, before it can proceed towards presidential assent.
“With the required number of state assemblies now having approved the measure, the amendment is expected to return to the National Assembly before being forwarded to President Bola Tinubu for assent,” the working group said.
In Ekiti State, all 21 members present at plenary voted in favour of the bill, which scaled its second and third readings in Ado Ekiti.
The Speaker, Adeoye Aribasoye, directed the Clerk of the House to transmit the document to the National Assembly alongside the legislature’s observations.
Aribasoye described state police as an issue that had remained at the forefront of national discourse for more than two decades.
In Benue, lawmakers approved the bill during Tuesday’s plenary, presided over by the Speaker, Alfred Emberga, following deliberations led by the House Majority Leader, Peter Ipusu.
Ipusu said state police would strengthen intelligence gathering at the grassroots, improve responses to security emergencies and enhance law enforcement.
He argued that decentralised policing could help address rural banditry, farmer-herder conflicts and urban crime, while creating employment opportunities and promoting accountability.
The Imo State House of Assembly also approved the proposed constitutional alteration following a motion by its Majority Leader, Kanayo Onyemaechi, who represents Owerri West.
Onyemaechi told the House that the National Assembly had transmitted the bill to state legislatures for consideration in line with constitutional requirements. He urged lawmakers to support the amendment, citing persistent insecurity across the country.
Similarly, the Anambra State House of Assembly passed the bill through its first, second and third readings during plenary in Awka.
The lawmakers adopted the measure through a voice vote at a sitting presided over by the Speaker, Somtochukwu Udeze.
The bill provides for a dual policing system in which federal and state police services would operate alongside each other under defined constitutional and legislative arrangements.
Under the proposal, the Nigeria Police Force would remain responsible for policing in a state until a state police service was lawfully established and certified operational.
Meanwhile, the Presidential Working Group said draft legislation intended to establish the operational framework for the new policing arrangement was undergoing legislative drafting review and validation at the Federal Ministry of Justice.
The group expects the reviewed bills to be returned by 30 October before presenting them to the President for his assent.
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