Twenty-four State Houses of Assembly have approved a proposed constitutional amendment to establish state police in Nigeria, meeting the two-thirds threshold required for the measure to advance, Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, has announced.
Gbajabiamila, who chairs the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, disclosed the development in a statement on Friday, October 23, 2026. He described the approvals as a significant step towards establishing a dual policing system in the country.
The proposed Constitution (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026, seeks to provide constitutional backing for a policing structure that would allow federal and state police services to operate within the country’s security framework.
According to Gbajabiamila, the approval by 24 of Nigeria’s 36 state assemblies meets the constitutional requirement of a two-thirds majority for the amendment. He commended the state legislatures for supporting the proposal and acknowledged the National Assembly for passing the amendment in both chambers.
The 24 states reported to have approved the amendment are Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Abia, Bayelsa, Benue, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Kaduna, Kebbi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Ogun, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara.
Gbajabiamila said that, in line with Section 9 of the 1999 Constitution, the amendment could now return to the National Assembly for transmission to President Tinubu for assent.
He added that the Presidential Working Group’s draft National Policing Bill, 2026, was undergoing legislative drafting review and validation at the Federal Ministry of Justice. The documents were expected to be returned to the working group on or before October 30 for final consideration before being presented to the President.
The proposed National Policing Bill is intended to establish the legal and administrative framework for implementing the dual policing system. The working group had also submitted 29 related amendment bills to the Ministry of Justice for review.
Supporters of state police have argued that decentralising policing could improve intelligence gathering, strengthen community-based security and enable law enforcement agencies to respond more quickly to local threats.
However, the proposal has also raised concerns about funding, accountability and the potential for state governments to exert undue political influence over police operations. Establishing appropriate safeguards is expected to be an important part of determining how the new system would function.
Although the approval threshold has been reached, the proposed reform still requires the remaining legislative and formal steps to be completed before the new policing structure can be implemented.
The development marks a major stage in Nigeria’s ongoing debate over police decentralisation, as federal and state authorities consider changes to the country’s security architecture amid persistent challenges involving kidnapping, banditry, terrorism and other forms of violent crime.
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