Nigeria stands on the cusp of its most consequential security reform since the return to civilian rule in 1999. In a sweeping legislative sequence that unfolded over barely two weeks in June 2026, both chambers of the National Assembly passed a constitutional amendment bill to establish state-controlled police services ending decades of centralized, federal-only policing and ushering in what supporters describe as a new era of community-driven law enforcement.
The House of Representatives passed the constitutional amendment bill the Sixth Alteration Bill, 2026 on Thursday, June 11, with 289 lawmakers voting in favour and only four voting against it. The Senate followed in rapid succession, with more than two-thirds of senators voting in support through a manual voting process conducted on the floor of the chamber.
The historic vote unfolded under the watchful eyes of senior officials of the Tinubu administration, state governors and Attorneys-General who were granted rare access into the Senate Chamber to observe proceedings, underscoring the significance attached to the legislation by both the executive and legislative arms of government.
From Executive Desk to Chamber Floor
The bill did not emerge from the legislature alone. The passage came a day after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu transmitted the bill to the Senate, describing it as a critical component of ongoing efforts to reorganize the country's policing system, enhance security and better protect citizens. He added that communities, municipalities and local government areas would play more active roles in policing responsibilities under the new arrangement.
Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, who led debate on the bill, described the proposal as "one of the most significant constitutional reforms in our nation's democratic evolution," arguing that the centralized policing structure established by the 1999 Constitution has struggled to cope with modern security challenges.
What the Law Would Do: A Dual Policing Structure
At its core, the bill dismantles Nigeria's longstanding unitary policing model. It amends Section 214 of the 1999 Constitution to move from a single national force to a dual system comprising both Federal and State Police.
The Federal Police Service will continue to handle federal laws, protection of federal institutions and assets, policing of the Federal Capital Territory, and crimes involving inter-state, international, organized crime, terrorism, cybercrime, arms-trafficking, national security or other federal dimensions. State Police Services, on the other hand, will be responsible for the enforcement of state laws, the maintenance of public safety and public order, the prevention and detection of offences within their policing competence, and the protection of life and property.
Under the appointment framework, each State Police Service shall be headed by a Commissioner of Police appointed by the governor and confirmed by the legislature of the state, while the Inspector-General of Police will continue to head the Federal Police Service. A governor may issue lawful written directives of a general policy nature to the Commissioner of Police on matters relating to the maintenance of public safety and public order within the state, though where the commissioner considers such directives unlawful or not in conformity with accepted standards of policing, the matter may be referred to the Nigeria Police Council.
Crucially, a state police commissioner must first be recommended by the National Police Council and confirmed by the State House of Assembly before being appointed by the governor meaning the appointment power is not absolute.
The bill also stipulates that no state police formation shall commence operations unless it is established through a law enacted by the relevant State House of Assembly and certified as complying with national minimum standards to be prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly. Until a state police force becomes operational, the Federal Police shall continue to exercise policing powers within that state.
Safeguards Against Abuse
No issue in the state police debate has generated more heat than the fear of political misuse that governors would weaponized their own police forces against opponents, journalists and dissenting voices. The National Assembly moved to address this directly.
Section 17(7) of the bill specifically prohibits a State Commissioner of Police from arresting, detaining, investigating or deploying force against any person, political party or group merely for criticizing the government, except in accordance with the law .
Among the critical provisions approved were constitutional safeguards preventing governors from deploying state police for partisan, ethnic, religious, sectional or personal purposes. The legislation further subjected federal interventions in state policing to Senate oversight and judicial review.
The bill also expressly forbids the Federal Police from interfering in the operations of any state police or the internal security affairs of a state, except in clearly defined circumstances and any such federal intervention shall only be effective with the approval of a two-thirds majority of the Senate.
The Road to Ratification
The passage by both chambers does not yet make state policing law. If endorsed by at least 24 state Houses of Assembly, states will be empowered to establish and fund their own police services under standards set by the National Assembly. Only after that threshold is crossed can presidential assent transform the bill into a constitutional amendment.
That process will be neither swift nor frictionless. States must individually enact enabling legislation, meet national minimum standards and secure certification before a single state officer can assume policing powers. States wishing to establish police services must also bear the financial burden of running them.
Voices of Caution
Even as lawmakers celebrated what many called a historic breakthrough, opposition voices raised pointed concerns about the reform's implementation environment particularly with the 2027 general elections on the horizon.
The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) warned against governors recruiting political thugs into state police structures, saying: "We must ensure governors don't pack their political thugs into the State Police, thereby using uniforms to harass opponents." The Conference of United Political Parties (CUPP) also warned that poorly implemented state police could become instruments for political Weaponization, election interference or suppression of opposition.
The Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), in a more stinging rebuke, questioned the Federal Government's credibility to implement such a sensitive reform, with its National Chairman Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed stating that the administration lacks the moral assets and the trust of Nigerians to undertake a major shift in the policing structure of the country.
These concerns are not trivial. Nigeria's history is replete with instances of security apparatus being turned against civilians and political rivals. The relatively thin safeguard of a constitutional clause, however well-intentioned, may prove difficult to enforce against a determined governor with judicial allies and a compliant state house of assembly.
Security Imperative Behind the Push
Whatever the political calculations involved, the security rationale for reform is undeniable. Nigeria is battling a multi-front security crisis jihadist insurgency in the Lake Chad Basin, banditry across the North-West and North-Central, separatist agitation in the South-East, and rural violence in the Middle Belt. A single, federally-controlled Nigeria Police Force, perennially underfunded and overstretched, has demonstrably failed to contain these threats.
Senator Aminu Tambuwal cited recent bandit attacks in Sokoto State that reportedly claimed dozens of lives, arguing that every legitimate effort to address insecurity should be embraced. Senator Mohammed Tahir Monguno also argued that several states already operate quasi-policing structures such as the Civilian Joint Task Force in Borno and the Amotekun Corps in the South-West making constitutional recognition of state police a logical progression.
Proponents argue that state police will improve local intelligence gathering, enable faster response to grassroots threats, and close the yawning gap between community knowledge of crime patterns and the federal police's remote, bureaucratic response. Critics counter that without robust, independent oversight mechanisms, the reform risks creating 36 political enforcement arms rather than 36 professional law enforcement services.
A Reform Whose Value Lies in Its Implementation
For states like Katsina, Zamfara, Borno and Kaduna where banditry and insurgency have claimed thousands of lives state policing, if properly resourced and depoliticized, could offer a genuinely life-saving reform. For states where political violence is endemic, the same structure in the wrong hands could become an instrument of oppression.
The constitutional amendment now rests in the hands of 36 state legislatures. How they respond and whether political actors across the country can resist the temptation to subordinate security to partisan power will determine whether Nigeria's historic policing restructuring delivers on its promise or becomes another casualty of the gap between Nigerian legislation and Nigerian reality.
Mustapha Bature Sallama.
Medical/ Science Communicator,
Private Investigator, Criminal investigation and Intelligence Analysis.
International Conflict Management and Peace Building.USIP
[email protected]
+233-555-275-880
References
TVC News "Eight Things to Know About the Newly Passed State Police Bill," June 2026. https://www.tvcnews.tv/eight-things-to-know-about-newly-passed-state-police-bill/
Voice of Nigeria "Breaking: Reps Pass Bill to Establish State Police," June 2026. https://von.gov.ng/breaking-reps-pass-bill-to-establish-state-police/
Voice of Nigeria "Nigerian Senate Passes State Police Bill," June 2026. https://von.gov.ng/nigerian-senate-passes-state-police-bill/
The Punch "Senate Passes State Police Bill, Empowers Govs to Appoint Commissioners," June 2026. https://punchng.com/breaking-senate-passes-state-police-bill-empowers-govs-to-appoint-commissioners/
Channels Television "Updated: Senate Passes Bill to Establish State Police," June 24, 2026. https://www.channelstv.com/2026/06/24/senate-passes-bill-to-establish-state-police/
BusinessDay "Governors Get Powers to Appoint Commissioners Under State Police Bill," June 2026. https://businessday.ng/news/article/governors-get-powers-to-appoint-commissioners-under-state-police-bill/
The Sun Nigeria "State Police: How Senators Passed Historic Constitutional Amendment Under Watchful Eyes of Presidency, Governors," June 2026. https://thesun.ng/state-police-how-senators-passed-historic-constitutional-amendment-under-watchful-eyes-of-presidency-governors/
Nigerian Democratic Report "Senate Passes State Police Bill, Moves to Reshape Nigeria's Security Architecture," June 2026. https://www.ndr.org.ng/senate-passes-state-police-bill-moves-to-reshape-nigerias-security-architecture/
Nigerian Democratic Report "House of Representatives Passes State Police Bill; Senate Advances It to Second Reading," June 2026. https://www.ndr.org.ng/house-of-representatives-passes-state-police-bill-senate-advances-it-to-second-reading/
Leadership Newspaper "State Police Closer to Becoming Reality as Senate Passes Bill," June 2026. https://leadership.ng/state-police-closer-to-becoming-reality-as-senate-passes-bill/
Opinion Nigeria "State Police Bill Sparks Fear of Abuse, Funding Crisis Ahead of 2027 Elections," June 2026. https://www.opinionnigeria.com/state-police-bill-sparks-fear-of-abuse-funding-crisis-ahead-of-2027-elections/
AllAfrica / This Day "Nigeria: House Passes State Police Amendment Bill, Scales Second Reading in Senate," June 12, 2026. https://allafrica.com/stories/202606120153.html
Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) "State Police Bill Passes House of Representatives, Senate Refers Proposal to Committee," June 10, 2026. https://placng.org/i/state-police-bill-passes-house-of-representatives-senate-refers-proposal-to-committee/
PRNigeria "Governors Empowered to Appoint Commissioners as Senate Passes State Police Bill," June 2026. https://prnigeria.com/2026/06/24/governors-empowered-appoint/
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) "Senate Passes State Police Bill," June 2026. https://nannews.ng/bill-6/
NALTF "Reps Pass State Police Bill," June 2026. https://naltf.gov.ng/reps-pass-state-police-bill/
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