After 24 State Houses of Assembly approved a constitutional amendment opening the door for a decentralised policing system, Nigeria has taken a step closer to creating state police.
The approvals have reached the constitutional threshold needed to move the amendment forward, according to the announcement made on Friday by the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill.
The group, led by Femi Gbajabiamila, President Bola Tinubu’s chief of staff, reported that two thirds of the 36 state legislatures had approved the Constitution (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026.
In order to give states a constitutional foundation for establishing their own police formations in addition to the Nigeria Police Force, the amendment aims to transfer policing from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent Legislative List.
Federal and state police agencies would function under specified constitutional and legal frameworks under the proposed setup.
The working group hailed the National Assembly for passing the law through both chambers and praised the state legislatures for supporting the modification in a statement.
According to the group, the change may now be brought back to the National Assembly for President Tinubu’s approval.
“The amendment can now be returned to the National Assembly for transmission to Mr. President for assent in accordance with Section 9 of the Constitution,” the statement stated.
However, because the amendment needs to finish the remaining constitutional procedures before it can go into force, the proposed state policing apparatus is not yet operational.
The working group reported that associated legislative measures and the accompanying National Policing Bill, 2026, were being prepared.
The statement states that the draft bills are being reviewed and validated by the Federal Ministry of Justice, which is anticipated to return them to the working group by October 30, 2026, at the latest.
Before delivering the legislation package to the President for additional consideration, the group will carry out a final examination.
The operational and legal underpinning for the intended dual policing system is anticipated to be provided by the proposed law.
The working group emphasised the significance of developing a policing system capable of handling Nigeria’s security concerns and asked political leaders, security agencies, and other stakeholders to facilitate an orderly transition.
In particular, the development asks for state-level security arrangements to supplement the current federal system, which is a key step in the continuing discussion over policing reform.
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