State police: Sanwo-Olu eyes 2026 take-off as 24 states give nod

Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has said state police operations could commence before the end of 2026 or in the first quarter of 2027, expressing readiness to establish what he described as the best state police outfit in the country.

Sanwo-Olu spoke on Friday at the unveiling of the Kessington Adebutu Security Trust Fund Building in Ikeja, Lagos, where he described the establishment of state police as long overdue.

His remarks came as the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, chaired by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, announced that 24 State Houses of Assembly had approved the Constitution (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026, meeting the constitutional requirement for the amendment.

The development brings the proposed state police framework closer to implementation, with the working group urging stakeholders to support a smooth transition to a dual policing system.

Sanwo-Olu said the Lagos State Security Trust Fund would play a greater role in providing funding, logistics and operational support for the proposed state police once the necessary constitutional and legislative processes were completed.

“So, possibly before the end of the year, or maybe in the first quarter next year, we will now have state police in every one of our states,” he said.

The governor added, “We’re excited, we’re looking forward to the formation of the state police because we believe that it’s long overdue, and everything that we need to do to bring it to reality in Lagos once the approval is dropped.”

He said Lagos would need to mobilise resources and adopt innovative funding strategies to ensure that its proposed police outfit performed optimally.

“We will need to ensure that we are very creative, we can think out of the box, and we can put resources together to make sure that Lagos State, at that time, which will be one of the state police setups, will be the best in the country by statute, by number, by support, by logistics, by everything,” Sanwo-Olu said.

The governor also sought to allay concerns among serving police officers, assuring them that the transition would not disrupt existing security operations or threaten their jobs.

“We want to assure the current police formation that we will put everything in place, that we will work together, we’ll create an ambience to ensure that there is no disruption in which anybody will have a fear of a loss of job or something,” he said.

Sanwo-Olu commended the Lagos State Security Trust Fund for its contributions to security operations since its establishment in September 2007 under former Governor Babatunde Fashola.

He recalled that the initiative raised more than 300 vehicles within its first four months.

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He urged individuals and corporate organisations to continue supporting security initiatives, stressing that protecting lives and property required collaboration between the government and the private sector.

The governor also commended Chief Kessington Adebutu for donating the building, which he formally named the Kessington Adebutu Security Trust Fund Building.

Meanwhile, the Presidential Working Group said the approval of the constitutional amendment by 24 state assemblies satisfied the two-thirds requirement stipulated under Section 9 of the Constitution.

In a statement signed by Gbajabiamila on Friday, the group commended the state assemblies and the National Assembly for advancing the proposed reform.

It said the amendment could now be returned to the National Assembly for transmission to President Bola Tinubu for assent.

“The approval gives constitutional backing to the policing framework that the Working Group’s draft National Policing Bill, 2026, is designed to implement,” the statement said.

The group added that the draft bills were undergoing legislative drafting review and validation at the Federal Ministry of Justice and were expected to be returned on or before October 30, 2026.

It said it would give the bills final consideration before presenting them to the President, while urging stakeholders to support a smooth transition to a dual policing system.

The National Assembly transmitted the amendment to the 36 state assemblies on September 16. The assemblies that approved it include Kaduna, Kebbi, Zamfara, Yobe, Oyo, Ogun and Rivers.

The 12 assemblies yet to approve the amendment include Lagos, Ondo, Ebonyi, Kogi, Niger, Borno, Gombe, Bauchi, Jigawa, Katsina, Kano and Sokoto.

Under the proposed framework, the federal police would retain responsibility for national security matters, while state police would enforce state laws and maintain public order.

Governors would be allowed to nominate state commissioners of police, subject to the recommendation of the National Police Council and approval by two-thirds of the state assembly.

Federal intervention would be permitted in specified circumstances, including a breakdown of public order or serious abuses.