The recent approval of constitutional amendment bills establishing State Police Services by both chambers of the National Assembly has been widely welcomed as an important milestone in Nigeria’s efforts to reform its policing architecture. The House of Representatives and the Senate each secured the constitutionally required two-thirds majority for their respective proposals in accordance with Section 9(2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended). Those votes, however, do not complete the constitutional amendment process because the two chambers passed different versions of the proposed constitutional amendment.
Although both chambers of the National Assembly had initially scheduled Thursday, 11 June 2026, to vote on the same Constitution amendment bill establishing State Police Services, the legislative process took a different course when the Senate deferred consideration while the House of Representatives proceeded with the vote as scheduled and both chambers subsequently adjourned for a three-week recess.
During the recess, however, the Senate was recalled to consider the Executive Bill transmitted by the President instead of the joint proposal that had been slated for consideration by both chambers. According to reports, the Senate subsequently considered the Executive Bill amid indications that the President wished the proposal to proceed as an executive initiative. As a result, the House of Representatives and the Senate passed different Constitution amendment bills, making it necessary for both chambers to reconcile their respective versions and agree on a common text before the amendment process can proceed.
Public interest in the State Police is closely linked to the country’s worsening security situation and the widespread desire for a more effective policing system. Many Nigerians believe that the crises of banditry, kidnapping, terrorism, and other forms of violent crime can best be addressed through the establishment of State Police. Whether the State Police will prove to be the panacea to Nigeria’s current security challenges, however, remains uncertain. While there are loud voices supporting the decentralisation of policing, sceptics argue that any reform must be accompanied by a robust legal and institutional framework that prevents the emergence of a state police monster, amid concerns that decentralisation could increase opportunities for political interference and abuse of power.
Those concerns are rooted in Nigeria’s history, as regional police forces during the First Republic were frequently accused of being used by regional governments for partisan political purposes, and those historical experiences continue to influence the debate over the establishment of State Police. The crucial question is, therefore, whether the legal framework governing State Police can prevent a recurrence of those abuses through effective oversight, accountability, and clearly defined limits on the exercise of police powers. The scale of that challenge is also considerably greater than it was in the 1960s because Nigeria has evolved from three regions (later four) to thirty-six (36) States and the Federal Capital Territory, meaning that a State Police system would involve thirty-six (36) separate State Police Services operating alongside the Federal Police Service.
Understanding the current status of the State Police Bill requires an appreciation of the constitutional amendment process as a whole. Although the approval of constitutional amendment bills by both chambers of the National Assembly marks an important stage in that process, it does not by itself establish State Police under the Constitution. The proposal can proceed to the Houses of Assembly of the States only after the House of Representatives and the Senate reconcile their respective versions and pass an identical constitutional amendment bill in accordance with Section 9(2) of the Constitution.
What Has the House of Representatives Done?
The House of Representatives considered and passed the Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) to provide for the Establishment of State Police and for Related Matters, 2023, sponsored by the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, alongside other members of the House. The Bill proposes restructuring Nigeria’s policing architecture by establishing a dual system comprising the Federal Police Service and State Police Services, and transferring policing from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent Legislative List.
In addition to redefining the allocation of policing powers, the Bill sets out a comprehensive constitutional framework covering institutional arrangements and oversight mechanisms. These include provisions for State Police Service Commissions, adjustments to the National Police Council, and detailed rules on appointments, funding, operational standards and federal intervention in policing matters. It is this version of the Bill that would ordinarily form the basis of consideration by the Senate in the constitutional amendment process.
The Bill received strong support during consideration in the House, with 289 members voting in favour and four voting against. Following its passage through third reading, it became the House’s approved constitutional text on the establishment of State Police Services.
In terms of legislative design, the House Bill incorporates a high level of institutional detail directly into the Constitution. It specifies the composition and powers of key policing bodies, including the National Police Council, the Federal Police Service Commission, and the State Police Service Commissions, while also addressing matters typically reserved for implementing legislation.
What Has the Senate Done?
The Senate also approved a constitutional amendment establishing State Police Services, but it did so on the basis of the Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) to provide for the Establishment of State Police and for Related Matters, 2026 transmitted by the President, rather than the State Police Bill passed by the House of Representatives.
The Bill passed through first reading, second reading, consideration in Committee of the Whole (a stage in which members consider the Bill clause by clause in plenary as a single body rather than through the relevant committee), and third reading during an emergency plenary session in which all stages were completed within the same sitting
While the Constitution does not prescribe a minimum interval between legislative stages and the Standing Orders of the Senate allow flexibility in the order of business, constitutional amendment bills are ordinarily treated in a more sequential manner because they involve changes to the supreme law. Completing all stages within a single sitting, therefore, represents a compressed legislative process that departs from the more gradual approach usually associated with constitutional alterations.
As stated earlier, the Bill considered by the Senate differs from the version passed by the House of Representatives in both structure and legislative design. While both texts provide for the establishment of State Police Services, they adopt different approaches to how the provisions are set out in the Constitution.
The Senate version sets out the basic arrangements for State Police Services and includes selected provisions on the financial autonomy and independence of Police Service Commissions, the Code of Conduct for the Federal Police Service, definitions relating to policing institutions, and transitional arrangements for the migration from the Nigeria Police Force to the proposed Federal Police Service. However, it leaves a wider range of operational and institutional details to be regulated by Acts of the National Assembly.
The House version adopts a more detailed approach, incorporating a larger share of these institutional and operational arrangements directly into the Constitution. As a result, matters such as institutional structure and oversight mechanisms are more fully entrenched in the House text, whereas the Senate version relies more heavily on subsequent legislation to give effect to the provisions.
What Happens Next?
The next stage of the constitutional amendment process will determine whether the State Police proposal can progress beyond the National Assembly. At present, the House of Representatives and the Senate have passed different versions of the proposed constitutional amendment. Because the creation of State Police is a constitutional matter, those different versions cannot be transmitted to the Houses of Assembly of the States. Both chambers must first agree on a common text, after which the harmonised bill must be returned to the House of Representatives and the Senate for approval in plenary before it can proceed to the next stage of the constitutional amendment process.
Also, because the proposed amendment affects provisions of Chapter IV of the Constitution relating to fundamental rights, Section 9(3) of the 1999 Constitution requires approval by at least four-fifths of the members of each chamber of the National Assembly. If the harmonized bill fails to secure this threshold, the proposed amendment comes to an end.
If the required majority is obtained, the National Assembly will transmit the bill to the thirty-six (36) Houses of Assembly of the States, each of which must consider and vote on the proposal independently. The amendment will proceed only if approved by resolutions of not less than two-thirds of all State Houses of Assembly, that is, at least twenty-four States, after which it is returned to the National Assembly for transmission to the President for assent.
The amendment to the Constitution creating the State Police Service constitutes the basic legal framework. The National Assembly will therefore still need to consider an implementation legislation, either introduced by members of the National Assembly or transmitted by the President as an Executive Bill. That implementation law will then repeal the Nigeria Police Act 2020 and set parameters for the operation of a new regime of policing in Nigeria.
Conclusion
Whether the State Police Bill has “passed” depends on what is meant by that expression. The House of Representatives and the Senate have each approved Constitution amendment bills establishing State Police Services, demonstrating substantial legislative support for reforming Nigeria’s policing architecture. Those approvals, however, do not complete the Constitution amendment process because the two chambers passed different versions of the proposed amendment.
Before the proposal can become part of the Constitution, the House of Representatives and the Senate must first agree on a common text and approve the harmonised bill in plenary. Since the proposed amendment extends to provisions in Chapter IV of the Constitution, it must secure the support of not less than four-fifths majority of the members of each chamber of the National Assembly before it can be transmitted to the Houses of Assembly of the States, where it must approved by resolutions of not less than two-thirds of all State Houses of Assembly before being returned to the National Assembly for transmission to the President for assent. Even after the constitutional amendment is completed, a further Act of the National Assembly will be required to establish the statutory framework for the operation of State Police Services.
The approval of Constitution amendment bills by both chambers, therefore, marks an important constitutional milestone, but it does not signify the completion of the process for establishing State Police. Until the remaining constitutional and legislative requirements have been satisfied, the State Police remains a proposal.