The House of Representatives on Thursday passed the Constitution Alteration Bill for the establishment of State Police Services in Nigeria, which was transmitted to lawmakers by President Bola Tinubu earlier this month.

Deputy Speaker of the House, Benjamin Kalu, moved for the consideration of the bill under the Committee on Constitution Review.

The development comes barely weeks after the Senate passed a similar constitutional amendment proposal.

What they are saying

At plenary, Kalu urged the House to consider the report of the Committee on Constitution Review on A Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to Provide for the Establishment of State Police Services and for Related Matters, and to “approve the recommendations therein.”

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Kalu led the debate on the consideration and passage of the bill, arguing that it is aimed at deepening Nigeria’s federal system by decentralising policing, improving public safety, and giving states a greater role in protecting lives and property.

NTA reports that, amid a rowdy session, the Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, announced that 311 members voted in favour of the bill.

Get up to speed

The push for state police has been one of the most debated security policy issues in Nigeria for decades, with proponents arguing that the centralised federal police structure is ill-suited to addressing the diverse and localised nature of security challenges across the country’s 36 states.

  • Tinubu’s transmission of the State Police Bill to the House of Representatives comes after both chambers of the National Assembly had already advanced separate constitutional amendment proposals on state police.
  • On June 11, the House of Representatives passed its own Constitution Alteration Bill on state police as part of the ongoing constitutional review process.
  • The Senate followed on June 24, approving a constitutional amendment bill on the proposed establishment of State Police Services after securing the constitutionally required two-thirds majority.

The Senate passed its version of the constitutional amendment after Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele presented the bill’s general principles to lawmakers, following which senators subjected it to clause-by-clause consideration before approving it at third reading.

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Backstory

President Bola Tinubu earlier this month formally transmitted the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Alteration) (State Police) Bill, 2026, to the House of Representatives, seeking constitutional approval for the establishment of State Police Services across the country.

Tinubu said the bill builds on previous legislative efforts by the House and introduces additional safeguards designed to ensure the effective implementation of the proposed dual policing structure once enacted.

With the President transmitting the bill to the House, the proposal gained significant momentum.

What you should know

The passage of the State Police Bill has continued to generate mixed reactions across the country, with security experts and other stakeholders weighing its potential benefits against the practical challenges.

Nairametrics earlier reported that a retired Commissioner of Police, Balarabe Sule, cautioned that many Nigerian states may lack the financial capacity to establish and sustain their own police forces if the proposed state police system is implemented.

Sule was reacting to the Senate’s passage of the constitutional amendment bill seeking to establish state police across the federation, warning that funding could pose a major challenge to the initiative.

While acknowledging that state police could enhance security and improve crime prevention, the former police commissioner questioned whether most states have the financial resources and institutional capacity to effectively support such a system.