President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has formally transmitted a Constitution Alteration Bill to the Senate seeking the establishment of state police across Nigeria, in a move widely seen as a major step toward overhauling the country’s security architecture.
The proposed legislation aims to amend relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution to provide the legal and institutional framework for the creation and operation of state-controlled police forces within the federation.
The bill comes amid growing calls for a more decentralised policing system to address persistent security challenges across the country, including terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other violent crimes.
President Tinubu has consistently advocated constitutional reforms that would empower states to play a greater role in maintaining law and order. Speaking earlier this year, the President urged the National Assembly to accelerate constitutional amendments that would pave the way for state police.
“Nigeria’s current security realities require a more decentralised policing system,” Tinubu said, arguing that state police would complement existing federal security structures and improve responses to emerging threats across the country.
Supporters of the proposal have welcomed the move, insisting that state policing would strengthen intelligence gathering, promote community-based security operations and ensure faster responses to local security concerns.
“This reform will bring policing closer to the people and enhance the ability of states to tackle crime effectively,” advocates of the initiative have argued.
However, the proposal has also attracted criticism from some stakeholders who fear that state-controlled police formations could be abused by political office holders.
Critics warn that without strong constitutional safeguards, state police could be used to intimidate political opponents and suppress dissent.
The bill is expected to undergo extensive legislative scrutiny in both chambers of the National Assembly, where lawmakers will examine its implications for Nigeria’s federal structure, governance system and national security framework.
If approved by the National Assembly and ratified by the constitutionally required number of state Houses of Assembly, the amendment would usher in one of the most significant security reforms since Nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1999.
