With 26 States on Board, National Assembly Poised to Pass Police Bill

By Saheed Olatunji, Reporter

With 26 state assemblies now endorsing the State Police Bill, the required constitutional majority has been met for final passage at the National Assembly

With the decision of the Lagos State House of Assembly to endorse the State Police Bill today, the required constitutional majority would be met for final passage at the National Assembly.

About 26 states, excluding Lagos, it was gathered, have passed the bill.

Prior to yesterday’s passage by Borno and Ondo, House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, who is the Chairman of the House Committee on the Review of the 1999 constitution, had confirmed the passage of the Bill by 24 state Assemblies.

The Nation learnt that the National Assembly may give a final passage to the bill at the resumption of plenary between today and Thursday when they receive the responses from the states. ReadNewspapers

The National Assembly’s Constitution Alteration (State Police) Bill, 2026, seeks to introduce a two-tier policing arrangement comprising a Federal Police Service and 36 State Police Services.

On July 7, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu inaugurated the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill to develop the legal framework for the proposed reform.

Two thirds majority of the 36 states is required to pass a Constitutional Amendment Bill. Ten states were yet to join the growing push for a decentralised policing system as at press time yesterday.

According to Kalu on his verified X-handle, the passage of the bill by 24 state Assemblies will bring policing closer to the Nigerian people.

He said: “The State Police Bill has now been approved by 24 State Houses of Assembly. A major milestone for Nigeria’s security architecture and constitutional reform.

“State Police will bring policing closer to the people, improve local intelligence gathering, speed up response to threats, and let states design security strategies for their own unique challenges.

“I commend the State Houses of Assembly for their commitment to this historic process, and I thank President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his leadership and support for this reform.

“I urge the State Assemblies to extend the same support to the other constitutional amendment bills that will be transmitted to them”.

While all six states in the Southsouth – Edo, Delta, Rivers, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom and Cross River – have signed the bill, four out of the seven states in the Northwest were still being awaited. They are Sokoto, Katsina, Kano and Jigawa.

The others are: Ebonyi and Abia (Southeast); Niger and Kogi (Northcentral) and Bauchi (Northeast).

The states that have passed the bill are: Adamawa; Kwara; Nasarawa; Ogun; Osun; Enugu; Anambra; Imo; Ekiti; Kebbi; Oyo; Plateau; Taraba; Zamfara; Bayelsa; Benue; Abia; Yobe and Kaduna.

The Bill will now be cleaned up by the National Assembly and sent to the President for assent.

The Ondo State House of Assembly yesterday gave its nod to the proposed constitutional amendment to establish state police.

The lawmakers approved the proposal at plenary in Akure after considering the Constitution Alteration (State Police) Bill, 2026, forwarded to state assemblies by the National Assembly.

Speaker Olamide Oladiji had on September 24 read a letter conveying the proposal to the House from the Clerk to the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana.

Before the approval, the Committee of the Whole House examined the bill clause by clause and recommended that the Assembly endorse it, subject to an amendment to Section 317A(5).

Speaking, Oladiji said the decision reflected the need to explore new approaches to tackling insecurity.

Also in Maiduguri, the Borno State House of Assembly approved the proposed alteration, clearing the way for the transmission of the state legislature’s resolution to the National Assembly.

The lawmakers approved the constitutional amendment during plenary presided over by the Deputy Speaker Abdullahi Musa Askira, following deliberations in the Committee of the Whole.

The proposal, which was listed on the Order Paper as a bill to alter the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, to provide for the establishment of a State Police Service and related matters, was considered by the House before the resolution was adopted.

House Leader Dige Mohammed, representing Kala Balge State Constituency, moved the motion for the House to dissolve into the Committee of the Whole to deliberate on the proposed amendment. The motion was seconded by Baba Ali Modu, representing Mafa State Constituency.

At the end of deliberations, the Deputy Speaker announced that the House had agreed to the proposed constitutional alteration providing for the establishment of the State Police Service.

Mohammed subsequently moved for the adoption of the resolutions reached during the Committee of the Whole. The motion was seconded by Jamna Bong, representing Abadam State Constituency.

Following the adoption of the resolution, Askira directed the Clerk of the House to compile the signed copies of the resolutions for onward transmission to the National Assembly.

The proposed amendment comes amid ongoing discussions on the establishment of state police as an additional security arrangement to complement the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies.

Speaking in separate interviews, Abba Kyari Abba Kolo, representing Jere State Constituency, and Bukar Modu, representing Konduga State Constituency, said the proposed State Police Service could strengthen security operations in Borno State.