President Bola Tinubu has forwarded a Constitution Alteration Bill seeking the establishment of State Police to the Senate, marking another major step towards changing Nigeria’s policing structure.
The proposed legislation seeks to amend relevant sections of the 1999 Constitution to allow States across the Federation to establish and operate their own Police Forces alongside the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
The move comes after years of calls from Governors, Lawmakers, Civil Society groups and security experts for the decentralization of policing powers to address Nigeria’s worsening security challenges, including terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and communal conflicts.
The development follows recent moves by the National Assembly to advance the State Police proposal.
The House of Representatives had earlier passed the Constitutional Amendment Bill after Lawmakers voted overwhelmingly in favour of the legislation. The Bill, 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 for Related Matters (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026,” seeks to amend constitutional provisions relating to policing.
During the voting exercise in the House, 289 Lawmakers reportedly supported the Bill, while one Member voted against it, paving the way for further legislative consideration.
The Senate also advanced the proposal after the Bill scaled second reading and was referred for further consideration as part of the ongoing constitutional amendment process.
President Tinubu had in February called on the National Assembly to amend the Constitution to accommodate State Police, arguing that States needed greater control and capacity to respond to security threats within their territories.
The President has repeatedly linked the push for State Police to the need for a more effective security system, especially as the country continues to battle insurgency, kidnapping and other violent crimes.
During his Democracy Day address earlier this month, Tinubu vowed that terrorists, bandits and their sponsors would face the full force of the law, while highlighting Government efforts in tackling insecurity.
He, however, acknowledged that recent security incidents, including the continued captivity of abducted schoolchildren in parts of the country, remained a major concern.
Supporters of State Police argue that a decentralized system would allow security agencies to respond faster to local threats because state authorities and community-level officers would have better knowledge of their environments.
The proposed amendment will require further legislative approval and the endorsement of State Houses of Assembly before it can become law.