Senate Passes Landmark State Police Bill, Approves Constitutional Framework For Decentralised Policing
The Senate on Wednesday passed the landmark Constitution Alteration Bill seeking the establishment of state police across the federation, marking a historic step in Nigeria’s decades-long effort to decentralise policing and strengthen the country’s security architecture. President Bola Tinubu had earlier transmitted the constitutional amendment bill to the Senate as part of broader efforts to reform Nigeria’s security architecture and create a legal framework for a dual policing system that would allow states to establish and operate their own police services alongside the Federal Police. The bill, titled “A Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to Provide for the Establishment of State Police and Related Matters (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026 (SB. 1055),” scaled third reading after extensive deliberations and clause-by-clause consideration by lawmakers. Its passage represents one of the most significant constitutional reforms und...