Nigeria has moved a major step closer to establishing state police as the National Assembly prepares to transmit the proposed constitutional amendment to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for assent following its approval by 28 State Houses of Assembly.
Clerk of the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana, disclosed this in a statement issued on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, confirming that the required constitutional threshold for the amendment had been met.
According to Ogunlana, 28 state legislatures have approved the proposed amendment seeking to establish State Police Services and provide a legal framework for their operations.
The approval exceeds the constitutional requirement of at least two-thirds of the 36 State Houses of Assembly, representing 24 states, under Section 9 of the 1999 Constitution.
The National Assembly had transmitted the proposed constitutional amendment to the state legislatures on September 16, 2026, requesting that their resolutions be communicated within 30 days.
Although the October 15 deadline has passed, Ogunlana said his office would continue to receive resolutions from state assemblies that had yet to submit their positions.
He disclosed that the Office of the Clerk had completed the administrative verification of the resolutions and supporting documents received from the 28 states to authenticate their approvals.
With the required number of state assemblies backing the proposal, the National Assembly is now making arrangements to forward the constitutional amendment to President Tinubu for assent.
In a further clarification, Ogunlana explained that Section 9 of the Constitution does not expressly prescribe a Third Reading for constitutional alteration bills, unlike the legislative procedure for ordinary bills.
The development marks a significant milestone in efforts to decentralise Nigeria’s policing architecture, which has remained largely under the control of the Federal Government.
If the amendment successfully completes the constitutional process and takes effect, it will provide the legal foundation for the establishment of State Police Services, potentially giving state governments greater responsibility for addressing insecurity within their jurisdictions.
