State Police Bill: Five Assemblies say yes, 31 yet to decide
Only five of 36 state assemblies have approved the State Police Bill, a setback for the constitutional amendment which requires approval from 24 states. Read More:…
The push for state police has been one of Nigeria's most persistent constitutional reform debates, driven by concerns that the current centralised policing structure under the Nigeria Police Force is ill-equipped to tackle localised security threats such as banditry, kidnapping and communal clashes. Proponents argue that state governors, who are often labelled "chief security officers" without real operational control over police in their states, need their own law enforcement outfits to respond more effectively, while critics warn that state police could be abused by governors to intimidate political opponents or entrench authoritarian rule at the sub-national level.
Amending the 1999 Constitution to create state police requires approval by at least two-thirds (24) of the 36 state Houses of Assembly, in addition to passage by the National Assembly. With only five states reportedly backing the bill so far and 31 yet to act, the process remains well short of the required threshold, underscoring how far the proposal still has to go despite years of advocacy. The coverage largely agrees on the vote count, though it is not yet clear from reporting which specific states have approved the bill, the reasons cited by others for delaying action, or a timeline for when the remaining assemblies might take up the vote.