The National Assembly is set to transmit the proposed State Police Bill to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, for presidential assent, following its approval by the required number of state Houses of Assembly.
Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, disclosed this during plenary on Wednesday while presiding over proceedings in the Green Chamber.
The development marks a significant step towards the proposed decentralisation of Nigeria’s policing system, which seeks to give state governments greater responsibility for maintaining law and order within their respective jurisdictions.
According to Kalu, 29 of Nigeria’s 36 state Houses of Assembly have approved the constitutional amendment proposal, meeting the required threshold for the National Assembly to proceed with the next stage of the legislative process.
The proposed state police framework is intended to address security challenges by allowing states to establish and manage their own police forces alongside the existing federal police structure.
Supporters of state policing have argued that decentralising law enforcement could improve intelligence gathering, strengthen community policing and enable security agencies to respond more quickly to crimes and threats at the grassroots level.
However, the proposal has also generated discussions about accountability, funding, political interference and the need to protect the rights of citizens under a decentralised policing arrangement.
The transmission of the bill to President Tinubu would represent a major milestone in ongoing efforts to reform Nigeria’s security architecture.
If the constitutional amendment completes all necessary legislative and presidential requirements, the proposed framework could pave the way for states to establish police forces under a new legal structure.
The move comes amid continuing calls for comprehensive security reforms to tackle kidnapping, banditry, terrorism and other criminal activities across the country.
Further details on the implementation process are expected as the constitutional amendment progresses through the remaining stages.
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