The National Assembly has transmitted the constitutional amendment bill seeking to establish state police to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for assent after securing approval from 30 of Nigeria’s 36 State Houses of Assembly.
Gatekeepers News reports that the development was announced during Wednesday’s plenary after Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau, read a notice from the Clerk to the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana, confirming the transmission of the bill.
According to the notice, 29 state assemblies had submitted their approvals as of the close of business on Tuesday, November 3, prompting the leadership of the National Assembly to direct the Clerk to transmit the bill to the President on Wednesday.
However, Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, subsequently announced that the number of approving state assemblies had risen to 30, following the inclusion of Adamawa State.
The states that have approved the amendment include Lagos, Ogun, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Borno, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Ondo, Osun, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, Zamfara and Adamawa.
Bamidele said the 30 approvals exceeded the constitutional requirement of two-thirds of the 36 state assemblies, representing 24 states, for a constitutional amendment to proceed.
He explained that the process involved three stages: passage by the National Assembly, approval by at least two-thirds of the state assemblies and presidential assent.
The Senate Leader said six state assemblies were yet to communicate their positions on the proposed amendment, adding that they had until November 15 to respond.
The Senate had earlier warned that states that failed to communicate their decisions by the deadline would be deemed to have withheld their approval.
The proposed amendment seeks to alter the 1999 Constitution to provide for the establishment of State Police Services as part of efforts to decentralise Nigeria’s policing system.
The Senate passed the bill on June 24, while the House of Representatives approved it on July 23, 2026, before it was transmitted to the 36 state assemblies for consideration.
The proposal has generated debate over the country’s security structure, with supporters arguing that state-controlled police formations would improve intelligence gathering and enable quicker responses to local security threats.
However, concerns have also been raised over possible political interference, abuse of power, funding and accountability under the proposed arrangement.
The bill now awaits President Tinubu’s assent to complete the constitutional amendment process.
