The Senate has passed the landmark Constitution Alteration Bill seeking to establish state police across the federation, marking a major step in Nigeria’s decades-long debate over decentralising the country’s policing structure to address worsening insecurity.
The passage followed a clause-by-clause consideration of the bill and came after more than two-thirds of senators voted in support through a manual voting process conducted on the floor of the Chamber on Wednesday.
Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio announced the passage of the legislation after lawmakers overwhelmingly backed the proposal during plenary.
The Senate approved the bill after considering the report of the Senate Committee on the Review of the Constitution, presented by Deputy Senate President and committee chairman, Senator Barau Jibrin.
The bill’s provisions were first considered at the Committee of the Whole before lawmakers adopted them and proceeded to a final vote.
Debate on the legislation was led by the Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, who urged senators “to support what many lawmakers described as a critical reform aimed at strengthening internal security and improving response to local threats.”
The legislation seeks to establish a state policing framework that would operate concurrently with the existing federal police system, effectively ending the exclusive control of policing by the Federal Government.
A key provision of the bill “empowers state governors to appoint Commissioners of Police for their respective states, subject to confirmation by the state Houses of Assembly”.
Under Clause 17 of the proposed constitutional amendment, while the Federal Police Service will continue to be headed by the Inspector-General of Police, “each State Police Service shall be headed by a Commissioner of Police appointed by the governor and confirmed by the legislature of the state.”
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The bill further outlines the operational relationship between governors and state police commands.
Section 17(6) provides that “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.”
To address concerns over potential abuse of the new policing structure by state governments, lawmakers included safeguards aimed at protecting political freedoms and civil liberties.
Section 17(7) specifically states that “a state Commissioner of Police shall not arrest, detain, investigate or deploy force against any person, political party or group merely for criticising the government except in accordance with the law.”
The provision is intended to prevent state police formations from being weaponised against political opponents, activists, journalists or dissenting voices and ensures that any action taken must comply with due process and existing legal provisions.
The passage of the bill came barely an hour after the Senate abandoned plans to deploy an electronic voting system for the consideration of the State Police Bill and other constitutional amendment proposals.
Lawmakers instead adopted a manual voting process following concerns that technical glitches affecting some voting devices could disenfranchise senators and undermine the integrity of the exercise.
The decision followed a motion made by Senator Bamidele, who argued that “every senator should be given an equal opportunity to participate in the historic vote.”
President of the Senate, Senator Akpabio backed the proposal, insisting that an open voting system would not only guarantee full participation but also promote transparency by allowing Nigerians to know where their representatives stood on critical constitutional issues.
Several senior government officials, including the Governor of Kaduna State, Senator Uba Sani; Governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun; Governor of Ondo State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa; and the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Mr, Femi Gbajabiamila, witnessed the Senate’s decision on the floor of the Senate.
Following the adoption of the motion, senators were called individually to publicly declare their votes during the consideration of the constitutional amendment bills.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had on Tuesday formally transmitted the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Alteration) State Police Bill, 2026 to the Senate, urging lawmakers to expedite consideration of the landmark legislation designed to decentralise policing and strengthen the nation’s security architecture.
In his letter which was read on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday, by the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, President Tinubu seeks to amend the 1999 Constitution to provide a constitutional framework for the establishment of state police services across the country.
President Tinubu described the proposal as “a critical component of his administration’s efforts to address the country’s evolving security challenges.”
It would be recalled in February this year, President Tinubu urged the National Assembly to amend the Constitution to accommodate state police, describing the reform as necessary to tackle terrorism, banditry and other security threats.
Also during his Democracy Day address earlier this month, the President vowed that terrorists, bandits and their sponsors would face the full weight of the law, insisting that no mercy would be shown to enemies of the state.
The Nigerian President said “more than 13,000 terrorists had been neutralised within the last year and noted that terrorism-related deaths had fallen significantly compared to previous years.”
With the passage of the bill, attention will now be shifted to state, where at least 24 out of the 36 State Houses of Assembly must also pass the bill before it can finally be sent back to President Tinubu for executive assent.
