Nigeria on Wednesday moved closer than ever to establishing a state police force after the Senate passed the controversial Constitution Alteration Bill seeking to decentralise policing, shifting the battle for the landmark reform to the 36 state Houses of Assembly where at least 24 legislatures must endorse the proposal before it can become law.
The passage of the bill by the Senate marks a major breakthrough in a debate that has dominated Nigeria’s security discourse for decades and comes amid worsening insecurity across several parts of the country, including terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, communal violence and organised criminal activities.
The legislation, which seeks to establish state-controlled police services alongside the existing Nigeria Police Force, was approved after senators secured the constitutionally required two-thirds majority through a manual voting process adopted following technical glitches that affected the chamber’s electronic voting devices.
With both chambers of the National Assembly now backing the proposal, attention has shifted to state assemblies, whose approval will determine whether Nigeria finally abandons its long-standing exclusive federal policing structure.
The proposed amendment is widely regarded as one of the most consequential constitutional reforms undertaken since the return to democratic rule in 1999.
At the centre of the reform is a provision empowering governors to appoint Commissioners of Police for their respective states, subject to confirmation by state Houses of Assembly.
Under Clause 17 of the proposed constitutional amendment, “while the Federal Police Service will continue to be headed by the Inspector-General of Police, each State Police Service shall be headed by a Commissioner of Police appointed by the governor and confirmed by the legislature of the state.”
The development effectively creates a dual policing structure in which state police formations would operate concurrently with federal police authorities.
The Senate approved the bill after considering the report of the Senate Committee on the Review of the Constitution presented by Deputy Senate President and committee chairman, Barau Jibrin.
The bill’s provisions were first considered at the Committee of the Whole before lawmakers adopted them and proceeded to a final vote.
Leading debate on the legislation, Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, described the proposal as a carefully designed framework aimed at balancing local policing autonomy with national cohesion.
“The bill is intended to retain the Nigeria Police Force for federal policing duties while providing for the establishment of state police services in states that choose to adopt them,” he stated.
Bamidele explained that the proposed structure clearly delineates the responsibilities of the federal and state police services.
According to him, state police would be responsible for enforcing state laws, maintaining public safety and public order, preventing and detecting crimes within their jurisdictions, protecting lives and property and carrying out other local policing duties.
On the responsibilities of the federal police, Bamidele noted that the federal police would be in charge of protecting federal institutions, counter-terrorism, organised crime, cybercrime, border security, arms trafficking, interstate criminal activities and other national security matters.
The Senate Leader also clarified the conditions under which federal police authorities could intervene in security situations within states.
He explained that intervention would only occur where there “is outright breakdown of public order at a specific subnational entity; when state police are incapable of functioning; when there is serious violation of fundamental rights; when there is an established record of electoral intimidation and when national security is under threat.”
According to him, such intervention would require written authorisation from the President and Commander-in-Chief and would remain subject to Senate oversight and judicial review.
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