State police have moved from rhetoric to reality – Senate leader

The National Assembly has begun collating reports from State Houses of Assembly on the proposed establishment of state police, with the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, saying the constitutional requirement for the reform has been met.

Bamidele disclosed this on Thursday while delivering a lecture to participants of Senior Executive Course 48 at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, Plateau State.

He said at least 30 state legislatures had approved the State Police Constitution Alteration Bill, 2026, surpassing the constitutional requirement of two-thirds of the 36 State Houses of Assembly.

According to him, the National Assembly will collate the reports, consider the positions of the state legislatures and pass a resolution by a simple majority in both chambers before transmitting the bill to President Bola Tinubu for assent.

The Senate Leader, who is also Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, said the National Assembly intended to complete the remaining legislative processes by December 2026.

He said, “We are pleased to inform our constituents across the federation that State Police have moved from rhetoric to reality. We have already received formal reports from the State Houses of Assembly and, as of today, no fewer than 30 states have approved the State Police Constitution Alteration Bill, 2026.

“By the provision of Section 9(2) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which requires the concurrence of not less than two-thirds of all State Houses of Assembly, the constitutional requirement for the alteration has been duly met. This is a historic milestone in our collective quest to re-engineer our security architecture and make it more responsive, more local, and more effective.

What happens next is procedural, but critical. The National Assembly is now constitutionally obligated to consider the reports transmitted by the State Houses of Assembly, collate those reports, and pass a resolution by simple majority of members in both chambers. Once this resolution is passed, the Alteration Bill will be transmitted to the President and Commander-in-Chief for assent.

“We have set a clear timeline for ourselves. We intend to conclude all these legislative stages — consideration of reports, passage of resolution, and transmission for presidential assent — on or before December 2026,” the Senate Leader emphasised.

The proposed state police system is part of wider efforts to decentralise Nigeria’s security architecture amid persistent killings, kidnappings and other violent crimes across the country.

Under the existing policing structure, the Nigeria Police Force operates primarily as a centrally administered institution. Proponents of state police argue that allowing states to establish their own police services would improve local intelligence gathering, response times and accountability.

However, concerns have been raised about the potential abuse of state police by governors and other political office holders, particularly against political opponents. Bamidele said the proposed reform would operate within constitutional safeguards, oversight mechanisms and human rights protections.

He described the development as a significant breakthrough after more than 15 years of unsuccessful attempts to establish state police through constitutional reform.

“What this means is that State Police is no longer a campaign promise or a subject of endless debate. It is now a constitutional reality. It means that the security of lives, private property and public assets occupies a prime place in the legislative agenda of the 10th National Assembly,” he said.

Bamidele said the proposed system would enable states to develop policing structures better suited to their local conditions.

He added that the reform was not intended to weaken the Federal Government but to strengthen Nigeria’s federal system by making security more responsive to local communities.

According to him, the objective is not to create state armies but state-led, community-anchored policing arrangements operating under clearly defined constitutional and operational standards.

The Ekiti lawmaker also credited the leadership of the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, with supporting the reform, assuring Nigerians that the National Assembly would see the process through.

He said the National Assembly, under the leadership of the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, “remains committed to delivering on the establishment of State Police. We will not falter until every Nigerian, whether in Kuru, in Iyin-Ekiti, in Gusau or in Yenagoa, can sleep with both eyes closed.”

Beyond state police, Bamidele said the 10th National Assembly had prioritised legislation intended to address citizens’ welfare, economic development and institutional reforms.

He argued that the performance of the legislature should be assessed by the practical effects of its laws and interventions rather than the number of bills passed.

Bamidele listed the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act, 2024; the Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act, 2024; the four Tax Reform Acts of 2025; and the National Social Investment Programme Act among the measures passed by the current Assembly.

The Senate Leader also cited the Electoral Act, 2026, the Cybercrimes (Amendment) Act, the Investments and Securities Act, 2025, the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act, 2024, and the Regional Development Commissions Acts.

He said the laws reflected a deliberate effort to use legislation to anticipate emerging challenges, strengthen public institutions and improve governance.

Bamidele said the impact of proactive lawmaking extended to national security, economic transformation, public financial management, electoral credibility, education, healthcare, technological innovation, environmental sustainability and relations among the different tiers of government.

On the relationship between the National Assembly and NIPSS, he called for stronger institutional collaboration to improve legislative foresight and policy development.

He maintained that the passage of laws alone was insufficient to guarantee good governance, stressing the need for effective implementation, funding and monitoring.

The senator said good laws must be relevant to citizens’ needs and capable of producing measurable improvements in their live

He, thus, observed that good governance “requires good laws. But good laws alone do not guarantee good governance.”

“We require laws that are relevant, evidence-based, implementable, adequately funded, properly administered, effectively monitored, periodically reviewed and ultimately measured by their impact on citizens,” Bamidele stated.