State police: 24 state assemblies approve amendment, meeting two-thirds threshold

The constitutional amendment that would let Nigeria’s states set up their own police forces has been approved by 24 of the 36 state Houses of Assembly, meeting the two-thirds threshold the Constitution requires, the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill said on Friday, 23 October 2026.

In a statement issued in Abuja, the group, chaired by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, said the Constitution (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026, which provides for a dual policing system, had been approved by 24 assemblies, “meeting the constitutional threshold of two-thirds of the 36 states”. “In line with Section 9 of the Constitution, the amendment can now be returned to the National Assembly,” it said.

Why it matters

Section 214 of the 1999 Constitution allows only one police force for the country, the Nigeria Police Force, so states cannot create their own without changing it. Under Section 9, an amendment must be passed by two-thirds of the members of each chamber of the National Assembly and then approved by the assemblies of at least two-thirds of the states, which is 24.

The count has moved quickly. On 16 October, Premium Times and Blueprint reported that only five assemblies had approved the bill, as GistMatrix reported at the time. A week later, the working group’s count stood at 24.

The group commended the state assemblies and urged “all stakeholders to support a smooth transition to a dual policing system that makes Nigerians safer”, TVC News reported.

Which states have approved it?

A GistMatrix comparison of the lists published by Tribune, Ripples Nigeria and ThisDay found that they agree on 23 states: Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Benue, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Kaduna, Kebbi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Ogun, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara.

They differ over the rest. Tribune’s list of 24 includes Abia, while Ripples Nigeria’s includes Gombe instead and says Abia had received the bill but not yet acted on it. ThisDay reported on Saturday, 24 October, that 25 assemblies had now approved the amendment, and its list of states still to do so leaves out both Abia and Gombe. Whichever count is right, the threshold of 24 has been met.

Which states have not?

ThisDay named 11 assemblies that had yet to approve the bill: Bauchi, Borno, Ebonyi, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kogi, Lagos, Niger, Ondo and Sokoto. Ripples Nigeria reported that Kano had scheduled it for plenary and that it was at committee stage in Bauchi and Katsina.

Their votes are no longer needed for the amendment to go ahead, because the Constitution requires the approval of two-thirds of the states, not all of them.

Will my state have its own police soon?

Not yet. The amendment sets up the constitutional framework, but the details of how federal and state forces would work are in a separate National Policing Bill, which has not yet reached the National Assembly.

As passed by the House of Representatives in June, the amendment would create federal and state police services and move policing to the concurrent list, so both the National Assembly and state assemblies could make laws on it, TVC News reported at the time. Governors would appoint state commissioners of police, subject to confirmation by their assemblies, and a state force would need to be certified against national minimum standards before it could start work. The Federal Capital Territory would stay under the federal police.

Lawmakers and former police chiefs have warned that governors could abuse state forces, Premium Times has reported. Gbajabiamila said on 15 October that there was a “national consensus” on the amendment.

What happens next

• The amendment: it goes back to the National Assembly, which will send it to President Bola Tinubu for assent under Section 9 of the Constitution, the working group said.
• By Friday, 30 October: the Federal Ministry of Justice is expected to return the draft National Policing Bill and other bills after a legal drafting review, the working group said. It will then give them a final review before presenting them to the President.
• The policing bill: Gbajabiamila said on 15 October that “we are 90% ready” to send it to the National Assembly.
• Watch: whether the remaining assemblies, including Lagos and Kano, vote on the amendment, and when the National Policing Bill reaches the National Assembly.

Has your state assembly debated the state police bill? Tell GistMatrix what your lawmakers are saying.