President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has formally submitted a Constitution Alteration Bill to the Senate seeking the establishment of state police across Nigeria.
The proposed legislation aims to amend key provisions of the 1999 Constitution to provide a legal framework for state-controlled policing. It is part of wider efforts by the Federal Government to strengthen the country’s security structure and improve local law enforcement capacity. The letter conveying the bill was read during Tuesday’s plenary by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who confirmed receipt of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Alteration) State Police Bill, 2026.
Speaking after the announcement, Akpabio described the bill as a major step toward improving national security and encouraging community involvement in policing. He noted that residents are often the first to notice suspicious activities in their environments, stressing that state police would enhance intelligence gathering at the grassroots level.
According to him, the proposed system would also improve coordination between communities and security agencies across the federation. Akpabio added that state governments had already expressed readiness to implement the framework once the constitutional amendment process is completed.
He commended lawmakers for resuming from annual recess to consider the proposal and other constitutional amendment bills, noting that copies of relevant committee reports had already been circulated for review. He also praised the Constitution Review Committee for what he described as nearly two years of consultations and legislative work leading to the current proposal.
“This is an epoch-making legislation that can significantly address insecurity and encourage broader participation of communities in maintaining public safety,” he said.
The Senate subsequently directed the committee handling the bill to resubmit its report on Wednesday for further consideration, as lawmakers moved to fast-track deliberations before the upcoming recess.
However, plenary proceedings were briefly affected following the announcement of the death of Yaya Tongo, who represented Gombe/Kwami/Funakaye Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives. Senators observed a minute’s silence in honour of the late lawmaker, while Senate President Akpabio extended condolences to his family, constituents, and colleagues.
Further consideration of the state police bill was postponed to Wednesday in line with the day’s proceedings and the mourning observance. The Senate is expected to continue deliberations on the proposed constitutional amendment as part of broader security reform discussions in the coming sessions.
