President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has transmitted a constitutional amendment bill to the Senate seeking the establishment of state police across Nigeria, in what could become one of the country’s most significant security reforms in recent years.The proposed legislation seeks to amend the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to decentralise policing by allowing individual states to establish and operate their own police services alongside the Nigeria Police Force.
If enacted, the bill would mark a fundamental shift in Nigeria’s internal security framework, which has remained under the exclusive control of the Federal Government since the country’s return to democratic rule in 1999.
Legislative sources said the bill has been received by the Senate and is expected to be listed for first reading in the coming legislative sessions. Lawmakers are expected to begin consideration of the proposal in line with constitutional procedures.
The establishment of state police has remained a recurring issue in Nigeria’s constitutional and security reform debates. Proponents argue that decentralising policing would improve intelligence gathering, enhance community policing, and enable quicker responses to local security challenges, particularly amid rising insecurity across parts of the country.
Opponents, however, have consistently expressed concerns over the potential misuse of state police by governors, political interference in law enforcement, and the possibility of state-controlled security agencies being deployed against political opponents or used to deepen regional tensions.
As a constitutional amendment, the bill must secure the support of at least two-thirds of the Senate and the House of Representatives before being transmitted to the 36 state Houses of Assembly. It must then be approved by no fewer than 24 state legislatures before it can be assented to by the President.
If passed, the legislation would introduce a multi-tier policing structure in which federal and state police agencies operate within clearly defined constitutional jurisdictions, significantly altering the country’s approach to law enforcement and internal security.
The Senate is expected to subject the proposal to extensive legislative scrutiny, including stakeholder consultations and public hearings, as deliberations commence on what is widely regarded as one of the most far-reaching security reform initiatives in Nigeria’s recent history
