The Senate has passed a constitutional amendment bill aimed at establishing state police services across Nigeria while introducing safeguards to prevent their misuse for political, ethnic, religious, sectional, or personal interests.
The legislation, titled the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Alteration) (State Police) Bill, 2026, was approved on Wednesday as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen the country’s security framework and address growing security challenges.
Leading debate on the bill, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele said the proposed amendment seeks to create a decentralized policing system that balances local security needs with national unity, accountability, and federal oversight.
According to Bamidele, the bill was transmitted to the National Assembly by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and provides a legal framework for the establishment of state police services that would operate alongside the existing federal police structure.
He explained that the National Assembly would be empowered to set minimum national standards for recruitment, training, vetting, promotions, discipline, use of force, firearms regulation, complaints handling, accountability mechanisms, data management, and professional conduct.
Under the proposed arrangement, states would have the discretion to establish their own police services, while the Nigeria Police Force would continue to perform national policing responsibilities.
Bamidele said state police services would be responsible for enforcing state laws, maintaining public order, preventing and investigating crimes within their jurisdictions, protecting lives and property, and carrying out other local policing functions.
The federal police, however, would retain authority over matters of national security, including the protection of federal institutions, counter-terrorism operations, organized crime, cybercrime, border security, arms trafficking, and interstate criminal activities.
The Senate Leader further outlined conditions under which the federal government could intervene in the operations of a state police service. According to him, such intervention would only occur in cases of a breakdown of public order, operational failure of a state police service, serious human rights violations, electoral intimidation, or threats to national security.
He noted that any federal intervention must be authorized in writing by the President and would be limited in scope and duration, subject to oversight by the Senate and judicial review.
“The bill provides robust safeguards against abuse, preserves federal authority where necessary, protects constitutional rights and creates a modern policing framework capable of addressing contemporary security challenges,” Bamidele said.
He added that the proposal is designed to strike a balance between local policing autonomy and national cohesion, as well as accountability, operational effectiveness, federal oversight, and state responsibility.