Nigeria’s plan to establish state police has reached a key stage after 24 State Houses of Assembly approved the constitutional amendment required to pave the way for a decentralised policing system.

Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu and chairman of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, announced the development on Friday, saying the required constitutional threshold had been met.

The approval marks an important step in the effort to restructure the country’s policing system, with the proposed arrangement expected to create separate federal and state police services.
Under the proposal, state governments would have a constitutional framework for establishing their own police services, while the Federal Police Service would retain its national responsibilities.

The amendment has already passed both chambers of the National Assembly and was subsequently transmitted to the 36 state legislatures for consideration, in line with the constitutional process for altering the 1999 Constitution.

With the required number of state assemblies now having approved the measure, the amendment is expected to return to the National Assembly before being forwarded to President Bola Tinubu for assent.

Meanwhile, work on the proposed National Policing Bill, 2026, is continuing. The Presidential Working Group submitted the draft legislation, alongside 29 related amendment bills, to the Federal Ministry of Justice on October 19 for legislative drafting review and validation.

The ministry is expected to return the reviewed documents by October 30, after which the working group will consider them before presenting the proposals to the President.
The proposed legislation is intended to provide the legal and administrative framework for operating a dual policing system in Nigeria.

Supporters of state police have argued that allowing states to establish their own police services could improve local intelligence gathering and enable quicker responses to security threats within communities.

However, the proposed arrangement will require clear safeguards on accountability, funding, operational standards and the protection of citizens’ rights to address concerns about possible political interference and abuse of power.

Although the constitutional approval threshold has been reached, the next steps in the legislative process and the development of the operational framework will determine how the proposed system is eventually implemented.