Indications have emerged that the House of Representatives is set to pass the State Police Establishment Bill at its plenary today, Thursday, June 11, 2026, in a move to tackle the lingering security challenges in the country.
The lower chamber’s move tallies with the resolve of the Senate, which announced on Monday its plan to pass the bill this week.
Deputy Speaker of the House, Benjamin Kalu, stated Wednesday while addressing journalists on behalf of the 37 caucus leaders in the House that the proposal had been necessitated by the increasing incidents of terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other violent crimes across Nigeria.
“When we say that the security of lives and property is the primary purpose of the government, the legislature must also play its part.
“Beyond summoning Service Chiefs and relevant agencies, there is a need for us to deploy legislative tools to bridge the gaps in the nation’s security framework.
“We have discovered that leaving the law as it is will not give us the expected results Nigerians desire.
“Therefore, we have prioritised constitutional amendments aimed at unbundling security-related challenges through legislation targeting state policing.
“We are here to announce to Nigerians that hope is coming. Hope for better response time to incidents of crime is here. By tomorrow, we will be voting on the constitutional amendment and we are prioritising state police.
“We have read reports that some people are trying to stop it, but the parliament is marching forward and by tomorrow we will be concluding on this. There is nobody stopping us from moving ahead with state police,” he stated.
*Bamidele on Senate’s resolve
Earlier on Monday, the Senate had disclosed of plans to fast-track the constitution amendment process for the establishment of state police, with the proposal expected to be transmitted to the 36 State Houses of Assembly for ratification.
Leader of the Senate, Opeyemi Bamidele, disclosed that the National Assembly resolved to isolate the state police bill from the broader ongoing constitution review process in order to hasten its passage in response to growing national security concerns.
Bamidele, in a statement issued by his Directorate of Media and Public Affairs, said there was now a broad national consensus on the need to decentralise policing and establish state police structures across the federation.
According to him, the proposal enjoys the backing of President Bola Tinubu, state governors, state legislatures, and other key stakeholders, raising hopes that one of Nigeria’s most contentious constitutional debates may soon be resolved.
Bamidele stated: “Our position is very clear on state police. We are standing with Nigerians on the issue of state police. All strata of the federation have made it clear that there cannot be a better time to establish a state police than now.”
He added that lawmakers had resolved to translate the growing public demand into constitutional reality by ensuring speedy legislative action.
“We came to the conclusion that we are going to pass the constitutional amendment in this respect to make a provision for the state police.
“If I can tell you as of today, that will come to fruition this very week because there is no need to allow any further delay,” he said.
The move represents one of the most significant constitutional reforms currently before the National Assembly and comes amid persistent concerns over insecurity, banditry, kidnapping, and other violent crimes across various parts of the country.
Nigeria currently operates a centralised policing structure under Section 214(1) of the 1999 Constitution, which provides that there shall be only one police force for the federation, known as the Nigeria Police Force.
