A bill seeking to establish state police and transfer policing powers to subnational governments has scaled second reading in the Senate, marking a significant step toward restructuring Nigeria’s security architecture.
The proposed 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 for Related Matters (Sixth Alteration), 2026, SB. 794, was sponsored by Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, APC, Ekiti Central. It received broad support from senators across party lines during debate on Thursday.
Following the debate, Senate President Godswill Akpabio referred the bill to the Senate Ad-hoc Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, chaired by Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau, APC, Kano North, for further scrutiny and report.
Presenting the general principles of the bill, Bamidele said the proposal was necessitated by Nigeria’s worsening security challenges, including terrorism, banditry, mass abductions, farmer-herder clashes, cultism, armed robbery, pipeline vandalism, and cyber-related crimes.
He noted that the centralised policing structure had struggled to respond effectively to increasingly complex and localised security threats.
“The establishment of state police will improve intelligence gathering: Local police officers are better equipped to obtain actionable intelligence from communities because they understand local languages, customs and social structures. Modern policing relies heavily on intelligence rather than force. State Police will significantly strengthen Nigeria’s intelligence architecture,” Bamidele said.
According to him, the bill seeks to modernise the country’s security framework by establishing both federal and state police structures, clearly defining their responsibilities, and creating State Police Service Commissions to ensure oversight. It also proposes moving policing from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent Legislative List to strengthen cooperative federalism in security management.
Bamidele acknowledged concerns about possible abuse by state governments but said the bill contains safeguards. “The proposed amendment does not weaken national unity. Rather, it strengthens the federation by enabling each level of government to effectively discharge its constitutional responsibilities,” he said.
The safeguards include state police service commissions, federal oversight through the federal police service commission, uniform national policing standards, legislative confirmation of senior appointments, and constitutional procedures for the removal of state commissioners of police.
The House of Representatives had earlier overwhelmingly passed its version of the constitutional amendment bill, with 289 of 290 lawmakers in attendance voting in support.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has also forwarded a Constitution Alteration Bill to the Senate seeking the establishment of state police across the federation, signaling strong executive backing for the proposal.
