State police bill gets 24-state backing, Lagos, 11 others delay

The proposed establishment of state police has crossed a major constitutional hurdle, with 24 state Houses of Assembly approving the amendment bill, while Lagos, Ondo, Ebonyi and nine northern states are yet to endorse it.

The 24 approvals meet the two-thirds requirement under Section 9 of the 1999 Constitution for a constitutional amendment to proceed to the next stage.

The National Assembly transmitted the Constitution (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026, to the 36 state legislatures on September 16 for their concurrence. The assemblies were asked to communicate their decisions within 30 days, although the period is an administrative target rather than a constitutional deadline.

The approvals include 14 of the 17 southern states and 10 of the 19 northern states. The states yet to approve the bill are Lagos, Ondo, Ebonyi, Kogi, Niger, Borno, Gombe, Bauchi, Jigawa, Katsina, Kano and Sokoto.

Kaduna State House of Assembly joined the approving states on Thursday, unanimously endorsing the proposed constitutional amendments to pave the way for state police.

The Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Henry Marah, said the proposed system would strengthen community security, improve protection of lives and property, and create employment opportunities for young people.

He argued that the existing policing structure limited state governments’ ability to hold police authorities directly accountable for security failures.

“Without security, you cannot even go to the farm or go to work,” Marah said, stressing that the protection of lives should take priority over infrastructure development.

He added that the state would enact laws to regulate the operations and welfare of state police personnel, while prioritising funding for the system.

Abia State House of Assembly also approved the bill unanimously, according to its Deputy Speaker, Austin Nmeregini.

In Ebonyi, however, Speaker Moses Ije Odunwa said lawmakers were still deliberating on the proposal and were close to completing the process.

“We have started deliberating on the bill, and we are very close to its passage,” he said.

Ondo lawmakers have received copies of the bill and distributed them among the 26 members for consideration. The Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Olatunji Oshati, said the assembly intended to complete its deliberations soon, with a plenary session scheduled for Monday expected to determine the next step.

In Lagos, the House of Assembly is expected to consider the bill when lawmakers reconvene next week. The Chairman of its Committee on Information and Strategy, Stephen Ogundipe, said the assembly was currently on recess.

Gombe lawmakers said the bill had not been formally presented to the House, while Kogi State Assembly had yet to schedule a sitting to consider the proposed amendment.

Separately, the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill has submitted the draft National Policing Bill, 2026, alongside 29 consequential amendment bills, to the Ministry of Justice for review and validation.

In a statement by the Chief of Staff to the President and chairman of the working group, Femi Gbajabiamila, the group said the ministry was expected to return the validated drafts by October 30.

The proposed constitutional amendment seeks to amend Section 214 to replace the single Nigeria Police Force with a Federal Police Service and State Police Services.

Gbajabiamila said the drafting process was progressing alongside the state assemblies’ consideration of the constitutional amendment, which must be completed before the bill is transmitted to the National Assembly.

The Senate passed the constitutional amendment bill on June 24, followed by the House of Representatives. President Bola Tinubu inaugurated the seven-member working group on July 7 to develop an implementation-ready national policing framework.

States that have approved the state police bill (24)

States yet to approve the bill (12)