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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has transmitted a constitutional amendment bill to the Senate seeking to establish state police, a proposal that could reshape Nigeria’s security architecture and redefine how law enforcement is managed across the country.
The bill seeks to amend the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to permit individual states to establish and operate their own police services alongside the Nigeria Police Force. If approved, it would mark a significant departure from the current system, under which policing remains exclusively under the control of the Nigerian government.
Legislative sources confirmed that the proposal has been received by the Senate and is expected to be listed for first reading in the coming legislative sessions. Lawmakers are then expected to begin formal consideration of the bill in line with constitutional procedures.
The push for state police has featured prominently in discussions on constitutional reform and national security for several years. Supporters of the proposal contend that a decentralised policing structure would improve intelligence gathering at the local level, strengthen community-based policing, and enable faster responses to security threats within states and communities.
Advocates also argue that governors and local authorities are often better positioned to understand the security challenges facing their areas and can deploy resources more effectively through state-controlled police services.
However, the proposal continues to generate debate among policymakers, legal experts, and civil society groups. Critics have warned that state police could be vulnerable to political interference, particularly if governors use security agencies to target political opponents or influence electoral processes. Others have expressed concerns about the potential for abuse of power and the emergence of competing security structures across the federation.
As a constitutional amendment, the bill faces a rigorous legislative process. It must secure the support of at least two-thirds of members in both the Senate and the House of Representatives before being transmitted to the 36 state Houses of Assembly. The proposal must then receive approval from at least 24 state legislatures before it can be presented to the President for assent.
If eventually enacted, the legislation would introduce a multi-layered policing framework in which federal and state police agencies operate within clearly defined constitutional jurisdictions.
The Senate is expected to subject the bill to extensive scrutiny, including stakeholder consultations and public hearings, as deliberations begin on what many consider one of the most consequential security reform proposals in Nigeria’s democratic era.
