The National Assembly has received reports from at least 30 state Houses of Assembly approving the proposed establishment of state police, with the Senate saying it plans to complete the remaining constitutional amendment process by December.
Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, disclosed this on Thursday while delivering a lecture to participants of Senior Executive Course 48 at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Plateau State.
Bamidele said the number of approving state legislatures had exceeded the constitutional requirement of two-thirds of the 36 state assemblies, marking a significant step towards decentralising Nigeria’s policing system.
He explained that the National Assembly had commenced collating the reports and would consider the positions of the state legislatures before passing a resolution through a simple majority in both chambers.
The resolution would then be transmitted to President Bola Tinubu for assent.
“We are pleased to inform our constituents across the federation that state police has moved from rhetoric to reality. We have already received formal reports from the state Houses of Assembly and, as of today, no fewer than 30 states have approved the State Police Constitution Alteration Bill, 2026,” he said.
Citing Section 9(2) of the 1999 Constitution, Bamidele said the requirement for the alteration had been met.
He added, “This is a historic milestone in our collective quest to re-engineer our security architecture and make it more responsive, more local, and more effective.”
The Senate Leader, who is also Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, said the National Assembly intended to conclude the remaining legislative stages, including the consideration of reports and transmission of the bill for presidential assent, on or before December 2026.
The proposed reform comes amid persistent killings, kidnappings and other security challenges across the country.
Under the existing arrangement, the Nigeria Police Force operates largely as a centrally administered institution. Supporters of state police argue that allowing individual states to establish their own police services would improve intelligence gathering, response times and accountability.
However, concerns have been raised about the possibility of governors and other political office holders using state police to target political opponents.
Addressing such concerns, Bamidele said the proposed system would operate within constitutional safeguards, oversight mechanisms and human rights protections.
He stressed that the reform was not designed to create state armies or weaken the Federal Government but to strengthen Nigeria's federal structure through community-based policing.
According to him, the proposed arrangement would allow states to develop policing structures suited to their local security needs while complying with clearly defined constitutional and operational standards.
Bamidele described the development as a breakthrough after more than 15 years of unsuccessful attempts to introduce state police through constitutional amendments.
He credited Senate President Godswill Akpabio's leadership with supporting the reform, assuring Nigerians that the 10th National Assembly would see the process through.
He said the legislature “remains committed to delivering on the establishment of state police. We will not falter until every Nigerian, whether in Kuru, in Iyin-Ekiti, in Gusau or in Yenagoa, can sleep with both eyes closed.”
Beyond the proposed policing reform, Bamidele highlighted several laws passed by the 10th National Assembly, including the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act, 2024; Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act, 2024; the four Tax Reform Acts of 2025; and the National Social Investment Programme Act.
Others include the Electoral Act, 2026, Cybercrimes (Amendment) Act, Investments and Securities Act, 2025, Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act, 2024, and the Regional Development Commissions Acts.
He said legislative performance should be measured by the impact of laws on citizens rather than the number of bills passed.
The senator also called for stronger collaboration between the National Assembly and the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies to improve policy development and legislative foresight.
He emphasised that effective governance required more than passing laws, noting that legislation must be properly funded, implemented and monitored to deliver tangible benefits.
“Good governance requires good laws. But good laws alone do not guarantee good governance,” he said.
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