President Bola Tinubu has transmitted a constitutional amendment bill to the Senate seeking the establishment of state police across Nigeria, a move widely regarded as one of the most significant security reform initiatives since the country’s return to democratic governance.
Gatekeepers News reports that the proposed legislation seeks to amend the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to decentralise policing by allowing states to establish and operate their own police services alongside the Nigeria Police Force.
If passed, the bill would fundamentally reshape Nigeria’s internal security architecture, which has remained exclusively under federal control since 1999.
Sources within the National Assembly confirmed that the Senate has received the bill and is expected to schedule it for first reading in the coming legislative sessions. Lawmakers will subsequently begin deliberations in line with constitutional procedures.
The push for state police has long featured prominently in discussions on constitutional restructuring and security sector reforms. Supporters argue that decentralised policing would strengthen intelligence gathering, improve community policing efforts and enable faster responses to local security challenges, especially amid persistent insecurity in several parts of the country.
However, the proposal has also generated concerns among critics who fear that state police could be vulnerable to political interference. Opponents have repeatedly warned that governors could misuse state-controlled security agencies against political opponents or deploy them in ways that exacerbate regional and political tensions.
As a constitutional amendment, the bill must secure the support of at least two-thirds of members of both the Senate and the House of Representatives before being transmitted to the 36 State Houses of Assembly for consideration.
The proposal must then be approved by no fewer than 24 state legislatures before it can be returned for presidential assent.
Should the legislation eventually become law, Nigeria would adopt a multi-tier policing structure in which federal and state police agencies operate within clearly defined constitutional jurisdictions.
The Senate is expected to subject the bill to extensive legislative scrutiny, including stakeholder consultations and public hearings, as lawmakers begin consideration of what many observers view as one of the most far-reaching security reforms in Nigeria’s recent history.
