By Gideon Maxwell
June 10, 2026
The House of Representatives has passed a constitutional amendment bill seeking to establish state police across Nigeria, marking a major legislative step toward decentralising the country’s policing structure.
The bill, titled “A Bill for an Act to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 to provide for the establishment of state police, and for related matters (Sixth Alteration) 2026,” was approved during Thursday’s plenary sitting at the National Assembly in Abuja.
Lawmakers voted in support of the proposal following extensive deliberations and a formal consideration of the report of the Constitution Review Committee chaired by the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu.
During the session, the House suspended some procedural rules to fast track consideration of the security related amendment, reflecting what members described as the urgency of addressing Nigeria’s worsening security challenges.
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A manual voting process was adopted after the electronic voting system failed, with 289 members supporting the bill and four voting against it. The proposal was subsequently adopted by voice vote and passed at third reading.
The legislation is part of a broader constitutional review effort aimed at shifting policing powers from the exclusive control of the federal government in Abuja to a shared structure that allows states to establish and manage their own police forces.
Supporters of the bill argue that a decentralised policing model will improve response times, strengthen intelligence gathering, and enhance community level security operations, particularly in regions affected by insurgency, kidnapping, and banditry.
The proposal will now proceed to the next stages of the constitutional amendment process, which requires concurrence by the Senate and approval by at least two thirds of state Houses of Assembly before it can be transmitted for presidential assent.
If fully adopted, the reform would represent one of the most significant restructurings of Nigeria’s internal security framework since the return to democratic rule in 1999.
