The Senate on Wednesday approved series of constitutional measures aimed at preventing governors from abusing the proposed State Police structure for partisan, ethnic, religious, sectional or personal interests, as it passed the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Alteration) (State Police) Bill, 2026.
The landmark legislation, which seeks to establish State Police Services alongside the existing federal policing structure, forms part of broader constitutional reforms designed to decentralise policing, strengthen internal security and improve responses to local threats across the country.
Leading the debates on the bill, the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, said the proposed constitutional amendment was carefully designed to create a decentralised policing system while preserving national cohesion, accountability and federal oversight.
According to him, the bill, which was transmitted to the National Assembly by President Bola Tinubu, seeks to establish state police services alongside the existing federal police structure while ensuring that adequate constitutional safeguards are in place to prevent abuse.
Bamidele explained that the proposed amendment would empower the National Assembly to prescribe national minimum standards for recruitment, training, vetting, promotions, discipline, use of force, firearms, complaints procedures, accountability, data management and professional conduct.
He said the bill seeks to retain the Federal Police for national policing responsibilities while allowing states that choose to do so to establish their own police services.
According to him, state police services 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.
The Federal Police, he added, would continue to oversee the protection of federal institutions, counter-terrorism operations, organised crime, cybercrime, border security, arms trafficking, interstate criminal activities and other matters relating to national security.
A key feature of the legislation is the provision outlining circumstances under which federal authorities may intervene in the affairs of state police services.
Bamidele said such intervention could only occur in cases involving a breakdown of public order, the inability of a state police service to function, serious violations of fundamental rights, electoral intimidation or threats to national security.
He stated that any intervention must be authorised in writing by the President and would be limited in scope and duration, subject to Senate oversight and open to judicial review.
“The bill provides robust safeguards against abuse, preserves federal authority where necessary, protects constitutional rights and creates a modern policing framework capable of addressing contemporary security challenges,” Bamidele said.
He added that the proposal seeks “to balance local policing autonomy with national cohesion, accountability with operational effectiveness and federal oversight with state responsibility”.
The Senate subsequently passed the landmark Constitution Alteration Bill after more than two-thirds of lawmakers voted in support during a manual voting exercise conducted on the floor of the chamber. (The excerpts are from News Point Nigeria)
