The National Assembly has confirmed that 28 State Houses of Assembly have approved the proposed constitutional amendment for the establishment of State Police, paving the way for the bill to be transmitted to President Bola Tinubu for assent.
The Clerk to the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, following the verification of reports and resolutions submitted by the state legislatures.
The proposed amendment, known as the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026, seeks to provide for the establishment of State Police Services and related matters.
Ogunlana said the 28 approvals exceeded the constitutionally required threshold of two-thirds of the 36 state assemblies, equivalent to 24 states, under Section 9 of the 1999 Constitution.
He explained that the National Assembly had received and verified the reports and accompanying Votes and Proceedings to establish their authenticity and confirm that they accurately reflected decisions taken by the respective legislatures.
The confirmation resolves earlier discrepancies over the number of states that had approved the proposal. While the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, had announced that 24 states had endorsed the amendment on October 23, Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele subsequently put the figure at about 30 states.
However, the National Assembly’s latest official confirmation puts the number of verified approvals at 28.
According to Ogunlana, the bill was transmitted to the 36 State Houses of Assembly on September 16, 2026, with a request that their decisions be communicated to the National Assembly within 30 days.
Although the stipulated period expired on October 15, he said the Office of the Clerk would continue to receive reports from state legislatures until the bill was transmitted for presidential assent.
He also clarified that Section 9 of the Constitution does not expressly prescribe a third reading for a Constitution Alteration Bill, unlike the procedure for ordinary legislation.
Ogunlana said the necessary administrative processes were already underway to facilitate the transmission of the amendment to President Tinubu in accordance with the Acts Authentication Act.
The proposed reform is expected to introduce a decentralised policing structure in which state police services would operate alongside the federal police system.
The development comes amid persistent security challenges across the country, including banditry, kidnapping, terrorism and communal violence, which have intensified calls for a review of Nigeria’s centralised policing arrangement.
Supporters of the proposed system argue that state police would improve local intelligence gathering, strengthen community-based security and enable faster responses to threats.
However, concerns have also been raised about possible political interference, human rights abuses, inadequate funding and the potential misuse of state police by governors.
The establishment of state police will require the completion of the constitutional amendment process and the necessary legislative framework to regulate their operations.