Nigeria’s push to establish state police has recorded a major breakthrough, with 25 State Houses of Assembly now reported to have backed the proposed constitutional amendment, surpassing the numerical two-thirds threshold required for constitutional alteration.
The development represents a significant milestone in the country’s decades-long debate over decentralising policing, as lawmakers across the federation throw their weight behind the establishment of state-controlled police services.
A compilation of publicly reported legislative approvals as of Friday, October 23, indicates that 25 of Nigeria’s 36 state assemblies have endorsed the proposal, one above the minimum of 24 required under Section 9(2) of the 1999 Constitution.
The latest count follows the approval of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026, by the Gombe State House of Assembly on Thursday.
Gombe lawmakers unanimously supported the amendment after considering the report of a seven-member ad hoc committee established to examine the proposed legislation.
The Speaker, Muhammad Abubakar Luggerewo, said the House endorsed the framework to strengthen security and establish a policing arrangement capable of addressing local security challenges.
The Deputy Speaker, Sadam Bello Sale, who chaired the committee, explained that the proposed legislation contained 26 clauses and had been subjected to legislative scrutiny before its adoption.
Gombe’s approval is particularly significant because an earlier nationwide compilation listed 24 states supporting the amendment but did not include the North-East state.
With Gombe’s separately confirmed resolution, the reported number of approving assemblies rises to 25.
Abia State also approved the proposed amendment on Thursday, following deliberations by members of its House of Assembly.
The Deputy Speaker, Austin Nmeregini, confirmed that lawmakers voted unanimously in favour of establishing state police.
According to him, decentralising policing would allow states to respond more effectively to their peculiar security challenges.
The latest legislative endorsements mean that the states reported to have backed the proposal are Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Benue, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Kaduna, Kebbi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Ogun, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Taraba, Yobe, Zamfara and Abia.
The states still without a publicly confirmed approval in the compiled tally are Bauchi, Borno, Ebonyi, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kogi, Lagos, Niger, Ondo and Sokoto.
Several of these states have already commenced legislative consideration of the bill.
In Kaduna, lawmakers unanimously endorsed the proposed constitutional amendment during Thursday’s sitting.
The Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Henry Marah, said establishing state police would strengthen community security, improve the protection of lives and property and create employment opportunities.
He argued that state governments needed greater authority over policing to respond adequately to security threats affecting their communities.
Similarly, the Yobe State House of Assembly adopted a resolution supporting state police.
The Speaker, Chiroma Buba Mashio, said the proposal formed part of wider security reforms aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s response to emerging threats.
Other states, including Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom and Imo, also endorsed the proposal during the latest round of legislative deliberations.
The approvals follow the National Assembly’s transmission of the Sixth Alteration Bill to the 36 State Houses of Assembly on September 16, 2026.
The bill seeks to amend the Constitution to establish a dual policing structure comprising a Federal Police Service and State Police Services.
Under the proposed arrangement, states would be empowered to establish police organisations to address security challenges within their territories, while the Federal Police Service would continue to perform its constitutionally assigned responsibilities.
The legislation is intended to improve community-level intelligence gathering, accelerate responses to emergencies and strengthen cooperation between federal and state security agencies.
However, the proposed decentralisation has also raised concerns about the possibility of political interference, inadequate funding and the misuse of state police by governors against opponents.
Lawmakers supporting the reform have emphasised the need for safeguards covering accountability, operational independence, human rights and professional standards.
Despite the reported 25-state backing, the constitutional amendment has not yet completed the legislative process.
The National Assembly must still reconcile and formally account for the resolutions returned by the state legislatures.
This is particularly important because some approvals were accompanied by observations or modifications.
In Adamawa, lawmakers adopted 24 of the amendment’s 26 clauses, rejecting two provisions.
Ekiti also approved the bill but transmitted observations concerning aspects of the proposed framework.
The effect of such qualifications on the final constitutional concurrence count will need to be determined during the remaining legislative process.
The National Assembly has not yet publicly certified a final tally of 25 valid concurrences.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has intensified preparations for the implementation of state policing.
The Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, chaired by the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, announced on October 20 that it had completed the drafting of the National Policing Bill, 2026, alongside 29 consequential amendment bills.
The documents were submitted to the Federal Ministry of Justice on October 19 for legislative drafting review and validation.
According to the Presidency, the ministry is expected to return the reviewed bills by October 30, after which the working group will consider them before presenting the proposals to Tinubu.
The National Policing Bill is expected to provide detailed provisions on the administration, standards and operations of the proposed federal and state police services.
Even after the constitutional amendment is concluded, individual states will still need to enact laws establishing their respective police services and satisfy the prescribed national requirements before commencing operations.
For now, the reported support of 25 legislatures places the state police proposal beyond the numerical two-thirds benchmark, bringing Nigeria closer to a fundamental restructuring of its policing system.
The next decisive development will be the National Assembly’s formal confirmation of the state resolutions and completion of the remaining constitutional procedures.