The Nigerian Senate passed a landmark constitutional amendment on Wednesday to establish state police across the country, ending 66 years in which policing has been exclusively controlled by the federal government. Once fully in force, the new framework will create a dual structure: a Federal Police Service operating alongside separate State Police Services that individual states can choose to set up, each governed by its own independent State Police Service Commission responsible for recruitment, training, and discipline.
The bill, formally titled the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Alteration) (State Police) Bill, 2026, was sent to the Senate by President Bola Tinubu as an executive bill, and lawmakers fast-tracked it through all three readings in a single sitting. The electronic voting system broke down during proceedings, so senators switched to a manual roll call, standing one at a time to publicly declare their vote, a method adopted specifically so the outcome would be transparent and no senator’s position could be disputed later. More than the required two-thirds majority backed the bill, and by most accounts no senator spoke against it. Several state governors, including those of Kaduna, Ogun, and Ondo states, along with the President’s chief of staff, were present in the chamber to witness the vote, reflecting how much weight the executive placed on the outcome. The Senate also passed a related measure the same day, the Police Trust Fund Act, aimed at strengthening police funding.
Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele led the debate, arguing that Nigeria’s centralized policing model, in place since the 1999 Constitution, is no longer adequate for a country of 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, given the scale and variety of security threats it faces, including terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, communal and farmer-herder clashes, cybercrime, and organized criminal networks. He said state-level police would be better positioned to gather community intelligence, given officers familiar with local languages and customs, and would relieve pressure on the federal force so it can concentrate on interstate crime, terrorism, border security, and other national-level threats.
Because of long-standing fears that state governors could misuse a state police force to intimidate political rivals or suppress dissent, the bill includes specific safeguards. It bars governors from directing state police to target individuals, parties, or groups unlawfully, and bans the use of police powers for partisan, ethnic, religious, or personal ends. Any federal intervention in a state’s policing affairs would require written authorization from the president, would be limited in scope and duration, and would remain subject to Senate oversight and judicial review. The National Assembly is also expected to set minimum national standards covering recruitment, training, vetting, use of force, and accountability, so that state forces don’t operate as a patchwork with wildly different rules.
It’s important to be precise about where this stands: the Senate’s approval is a major milestone, but the bill is not yet law. As a constitutional amendment, it still needs to pass the House of Representatives, receive the President’s assent, and then be ratified by at least 24 of Nigeria’s 36 state Houses of Assembly before state police can actually become a reality. Supporters describe this as one of the most significant constitutional reforms since 1999 and a long-overdue response to Nigeria’s worsening security crisis, while critics continue to warn that, despite the safeguards written into the bill, governors could still find ways to turn state police into a tool of political control.
