State police: Senate confident of 24 states’ backing

The Senate has said there is no serious opposition to the proposed establishment of state police, expressing confidence that the constitutional amendment bill will secure the required approval of state Houses of Assembly.

The chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Yemi Adaramodu, disclosed this in an exclusive interview with The PUNCH.

The proposed State Police Services Bill is currently before the 36 state Houses of Assembly after the National Assembly transmitted it to them on September 16, as part of the constitutional alteration process.

The state Houses of Assembly were given a 30-day ultimatum to look into the bill and decide on it. The timeline elapses on October 15.

As of Thursday, only Edo, Oyo, Osun and Rivers states had approved the bill.

Speaking on the development, Adaramodu said although it was unrealistic to expect all Nigerians to support the proposal, the majority of Nigerians favoured the establishment of state police as a way of addressing the country’s security challenges.

He said, “We are a country of 200 million people. So, you can expect that some people will go left while others are going right. But the thing is that it has now gone to the states. We have had deliberations on it. What we know is that the majority of Nigerians want the state police.

“I am yet to see any group of persons gather to say no to state police unless they don’t want good for the security of Nigeria. But I am not judging that. What I am only saying is that we do not expect everybody to say yes to any proposal in Nigeria.

“For now, we have transmitted it to the states, and we need 24 state Houses of Assembly to consent. That’s two-thirds of 36. So, once we get that, we will go ahead and promulgate.”

The senator also allayed fears that the constitutional amendment could be delayed until the 11th National Assembly, insisting that the current 10th Senate would complete the process.

“There is no need for fear. This is the 10th Senate, isn’t it? I can assure you that it will be done in the life of this 10th Senate before the next one comes on board,” he said.

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Asked whether there was a timeline for the state legislatures to approve or reject the bill, Adaramodu said the National Assembly expected the responses soon.

“Yes, we are expecting it back possibly by next week,” he said.

The development comes amid growing calls for the decentralisation of policing in Nigeria, with proponents arguing that state-controlled police would provide a more effective response to local security threats.

The National Assembly had, on September 16, 2026, transmitted the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026, titled, “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,” to the 36 state Houses of Assembly.

The transmission followed widespread demands for reforms to the country’s policing architecture amid persistent security challenges.

The Clerk to the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana, subsequently clarified that the State Police Bill was the only constitutional amendment proposal that had so far been transmitted to the state legislatures.

Ogunlana said the remaining Constitution Alteration Bills would be transmitted to the states after they had been passed in identical form by both chambers of the National Assembly.

Meanwhile, the Secretary of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, Nnadubem Moghalu, said on Tuesday that four states had already approved the proposed constitutional amendment.

Moghalu disclosed this while delivering a lecture at the second annual House of Representatives Press Corps Distinguished Parliamentary Lecture in Abuja.

He said Edo, Oyo, Osun and Rivers states had approved the bill as of the time he prepared his lecture.

The state police proposal now requires the approval of at least 24 of the 36 state Houses of Assembly, representing the constitutionally required two-thirds threshold, before the National Assembly can proceed with the amendment process.