By Isiaka Mustapha, Editor-in-Chief, People’s Security Monitor

The proposed establishment of state police in Nigeria has reached a significant milestone, with 24 of the country’s 36 state Houses of Assembly approving the constitutional amendment required to advance the initiative, while 12 states are yet to endorse the proposal.

The development marks the attainment of the constitutional threshold required for the proposed amendment to proceed to the next stage of the legislative process.As of Thursday, October 22, 2026, 14 of the 17 southern states and 10 of the 19 northern states had approved the bill. The outstanding states are Lagos, Ondo and Ebonyi in the South, and Kogi, Niger, Borno, Gombe, Bauchi, Jigawa, Katsina, Kano and Sokoto in the North.

The National Assembly transmitted the 1999 Constitution (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026, to the 36 state legislatures on September 16, requesting their concurrence.

Although the lawmakers were asked to communicate their resolutions within 30 days, the period was described as an administrative target rather than a constitutional deadline.

Under Section 9 of the 1999 Constitution, a constitutional amendment requires the approval of at least two thirds of the state Houses of Assembly, representing 24 legislatures, before the process can advance.Kaduna State became one of the latest states to endorse the proposal after its House of Assembly unanimously approved the proposed amendments to 15 sections of the Constitution.

The Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Henry Marah, disclosed this while briefing journalists on the Assembly’s proceedings. He said the lawmakers supported the proposal because of its potential to strengthen community security, protect lives and property, and create employment opportunities for young people.Marah argued that the existing policing structure limited the ability of state governments to hold police authorities directly accountable for security failures.

He said the proposed system would establish a legal framework for community based policing and improve responses to banditry and other criminal activities.He added that the Assembly would introduce appropriate laws to regulate the operations and welfare of state police personnel once the proposal became effective.

According to him, the state would prioritise security funding, even if doing so required adjustments to expenditure on other projects.Emphasising the importance of security to economic activities, Marah said residents needed to be able to travel, work and farm without fear of attacks or kidnapping.

He urged the public to support the initiative, arguing that improved security would enable farmers to return to their farms and harvest their produce safely.In Abia State, Deputy Speaker Austin Nmeregini confirmed that the House of Assembly had unanimously passed the bill after deliberations by lawmakers. He had earlier indicated that the proposal received support during an executive session before being taken to plenary.Meanwhile, the Speaker of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly, Moses Ije Odunwa, said lawmakers were close to completing deliberations on the proposal and expected to pass it soon.Odunwa said the proposed legislation was intended to strengthen the protection of lives and property in Ebonyi and across the country. He recalled that the state had previously supported the establishment of state police during the National Assembly’s constitutional review consultations.

In Ondo State, the Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Olatunji Oshati, said copies of the proposed amendment had been distributed to all 26 members of the Assembly for scrutiny.He explained that lawmakers would study the document, submit their observations and deliberate on the proposal before communicating their position to the National Assembly. Oshati expressed confidence that the process would be concluded soon, adding that the next plenary session was expected to determine the timing of its passage.Kogi State, however, had yet to commence deliberations on the amendment, although the Assembly had acknowledged receiving the document. Deputy Clerk of the House, Aka Bayo, attributed the delay to lawmakers’ absence at an international conference in Rwanda and said further information could be provided when the Assembly reconvened.

In Lagos State, the Chairman of the House Committee on Information and Strategy, Stephen Ogundipe, said the Assembly was on recess but expected to reconvene the following week to consider the proposal and take the necessary legislative action.In Gombe State, the Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, Aliyu Baba Manu, said the bill had not been formally presented to the Assembly for consideration. He explained that once received, it would be referred to the appropriate committee for further legislative scrutiny.

The Deputy Speaker also said he was unaware of the bill’s formal presentation.While the state legislatures continue their deliberations, the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill has advanced its own legislative assignment.The group, chaired by President Bola Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, submitted the draft National Policing Bill, 2026, alongside 29 consequential amendment bills, to the Ministry of Justice for legislative drafting review and validation.The proposed constitutional amendment seeks to alter Section 214 of the Constitution to replace the existing single Nigeria Police Force structure with a Federal Police Service and State Police Services.

According to the working group, the Ministry of Justice is expected to complete its review and return the validated draft bills by October 30, 2026. The group will subsequently undertake a final review before submitting the documents to the President.Gbajabiamila said the drafting exercise was progressing alongside the state assemblies’ consideration of the constitutional amendment, which must be completed before the relevant bill can proceed to the next stage.

The Senate passed the state police proposal on June 24, after which the House of Representatives also approved it. President Tinubu inaugurated the seven member Presidential Working Group on July 7, while its steering committee began work on August 3 to develop a comprehensive framework for implementing the proposed policing system.### States that have approved the billAdamawa, Delta, Edo, Kwara, Nasarawa, Ogun, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Taraba, Zamfara, Enugu, Anambra, Imo, Ekiti, Kebbi, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Benue, Cross River, Abia, Yobe and Kaduna.### States yet to approve the billLagos, Ondo, Ebonyi, Kogi, Niger, Borno, Gombe, Bauchi, Jigawa, Katsina, Kano and Sokoto.

The attainment of the 24 state approval threshold represents an important step towards the proposed decentralisation of policing in Nigeria. However, the successful implementation of state police will depend on the completion of the constitutional process, the development of appropriate legislation and safeguards, and the establishment of effective accountability mechanisms to prevent political interference and abuse of power.