By Joy Yesufu and Kamsi Anayo
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has formally transmitted a Constitution Alteration Bill seeking the establishment of state police to the Senate, in what is being described as a significant step toward reforming Nigeria’s security architecture.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio disclosed this during plenary on Tuesday, announcing that the upper chamber would begin consideration of the proposed constitutional amendment on Wednesday.
Akpabio further revealed that state governments had also indicated their readiness to consider the proposal once it is transmitted to them, underscoring growing support for the initiative across the federation.
The bill seeks to amend relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution to provide a legal framework for the creation and operation of state police services, a long-debated issue in Nigeria’s quest to address rising insecurity.
The proposal comes amid increasing calls for the decentralisation of policing powers to enable state governments play a more active role in securing lives and property within their jurisdictions.
President Tinubu has repeatedly advocated constitutional reforms to strengthen internal security.
In February, he urged the National Assembly to amend the Constitution to accommodate state police, arguing that the reform had become necessary to effectively combat terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other violent crimes.
During his Democracy Day address earlier this month, the President reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to tackling insecurity, pledging that terrorists, bandits and their sponsors would face the full force of the law.
The state police proposal has gained renewed momentum in recent months, with both chambers of the National Assembly advancing constitutional amendment efforts aimed at restructuring policing and enhancing grassroots security management.
The Senate is expected to deliberate on the bill as part of what observers describe as one of the most consequential security reforms in Nigeria’s democratic history.
