Suliat Lawal
The House of Representatives on Thursday passed the Constitution Alteration (State Police) Bill, 2026, clearing another major hurdle in the bid to establish state police across Nigeria despite a protest and walkout by members of the minority caucus.
The bill, which seeks to create a constitutional framework for the establishment and operation of state police services alongside the Nigeria Police Force, was approved after 311 lawmakers participated in the voting process, surpassing the constitutional requirement for a two-thirds majority.
Speaker of the House, Abbas Tajudeen, said 276 members were physically present in the chamber, while 35 others participated virtually through the National Assembly’s electronic platform.
He explained that the Constitution requires the support of at least 240 members of the 360-member House for any constitutional amendment to scale through.
The bill was passed after the House, sitting as the Committee of the Whole, adopted the report of the House Committee on Constitution Review chaired by the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu.
However, the passage sparked protests from members of the minority caucus, who staged a walkout after the bill was approved without a clause-by-clause consideration of its provisions.
Leading the debate, Kalu described the proposed amendment as a landmark step towards overhauling Nigeria’s security architecture amid worsening insecurity across the country.
According to him, the amendment would only provide the constitutional basis for state police, while separate legislation would address critical operational issues such as recruitment, training, funding, accountability, oversight, operational standards and coordination between federal and state security agencies.
“This bill represents a significant and practical first step towards the establishment of state police. It lays the constitutional foundation upon which a modern, professional, accountable and effective state police system can be built,” Kalu said.
He acknowledged concerns expressed by some lawmakers and stakeholders over the proposal but argued that such issues could be addressed through the implementation law expected to follow.
Kalu also disclosed that President Bola Tinubu had already constituted a committee to work on the implementation framework for state police.
He urged lawmakers to place national interest above political considerations, saying the National Assembly had an opportunity to make history by approving a reform capable of strengthening security and deepening Nigeria’s federal system.
“I believe there is nobody seated here today who is against state police because it concerns your safety and that of the people you represent,” he said.
The latest approval followed a fresh legislative process initiated by President Tinubu after the House had earlier passed a separate state police constitutional amendment bill on June 11.
The President later transmitted an Executive Bill seeking amendments to the 1999 Constitution to provide a legal basis for the establishment of state police services.
Following the President’s request, the House withdrew its earlier version of the bill and commenced consideration of the Executive proposal to harmonise its position with that of the Senate.
The Senate had already passed the Executive Bill after 87 senators voted in support, exceeding the constitutional threshold required for constitutional amendments.
With the House’s approval, the proposed amendment now moves to the next stage of the constitutional alteration process, where it must secure the endorsement of at least two-thirds of the 36 state Houses of Assembly before it can be transmitted for presidential assent and become part of the Constitution.
The passage comes amid growing calls for the decentralisation of policing as Nigeria continues to battle terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other violent crimes, with advocates arguing that state police would improve local intelligence gathering and enhance security response across the federation.
