The campaign to establish state police in Nigeria has gained fresh momentum, with eight additional State Houses of Assembly approving the proposed constitutional amendment, bringing the total number of approving states to 13.
The development represents a significant step in efforts to decentralise the country’s policing system amid persistent security challenges, including kidnapping, banditry, terrorism and communal violence.
The eight assemblies that approved the proposal were Kwara, Taraba, Nasarawa, Ogun, Delta, Cross River, Plateau and Enugu.
Their decisions increased the number of approving states from five to 13, following a renewed push to secure support from state legislatures.
The proposed reform seeks to establish a dual policing structure comprising the Federal Police Service and State Police Services.
Under this arrangement, state-level police institutions would operate alongside the federal police, potentially bringing law enforcement closer to local communities.
Supporters argue that state police would enable security agencies to respond more quickly to crimes and better understand the peculiar security challenges facing individual communities.
They also believe that decentralised policing could improve crime prevention and coordination between local authorities and other security agencies.
However, the proposal remains subject to constitutional requirements. Section 9(2) of the 1999 Constitution requires constitutional amendments to receive approval from at least two-thirds of the 36 State Houses of Assembly, equivalent to 24 states.
With 13 assemblies having approved the bill at the time of the report, the proposal still needed the backing of 11 additional state legislatures to meet that threshold.
The bill had earlier passed through the Senate on June 24 and the House of Representatives on July 23 before being transmitted to the state assemblies on September 16, 2026.
The National Assembly had set a 30-day period for the state legislatures to communicate their positions, with the deadline falling on October 16.
Meanwhile, the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill submitted the proposed legislation, alongside 29 related amendment bills, to the Federal Ministry of Justice for review and validation.
The working group’s chairman, Femi Gbajabiamila, said the review was intended to ensure that the proposals complied with legislative drafting standards and did not conflict with existing laws.
The ministry was expected to return the validated drafts by October 30 before the working group conducted its final consideration.
Despite growing legislative support, the state police proposal continues to attract debate.
Advocates say it could strengthen security by giving states greater capacity to address local threats, while critics worry that governors might misuse state-controlled police forces to intimidate political opponents or suppress dissent.
These concerns have made safeguards, accountability and respect for fundamental rights important parts of the discussion.
Some lawmakers have stressed that any decentralised policing arrangement must operate within the law and remain subject to democratic oversight.
The next phase will depend on the remaining state assemblies and the progress of the constitutional amendment process.
Approval by the required number of states would be a major milestone, but it would not, by itself, resolve every legislative and institutional issue involved in establishing state police.
Ultimately, the reform’s effectiveness would depend not only on its legal framework but also on how police powers are supervised, funded and exercised at state level.