TINUBU TRANSMITS CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT BILL SEEKING STATE POLICE CREATION

TINUBU TRANSMITS CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT BILL SEEKING STATE POLICE CREATION President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has transmitted a constitutional amendment bill to the Senate seeking the establishment of state police and a legal framework for decentralised policing across Nigeria. The bill, which was formally read during plenary, proposes far-reaching changes to the 1999 Constitution that would allow Nigeria’s 36 states to establish and operate their own police forces alongside the federal police structure. Senate President Godswill Akpabio confirmed the receipt of the proposed legislation and assured lawmakers that the upper chamber would give it swift consideration as part of ongoing constitutional review efforts aimed at strengthening internal security.The proposal is part of broader security reforms championed by the Tinubu administration in response to rising insecurity across the country, including kidnapping, banditry, and insurgency in several regions. If passed, the amendment would significantly alter Nigeria’s centralised policing system, which has been in place since the return to democratic rule in 1999, and replace it with a multi-tier security structure involving both federal and state controlled police agencies. The proposed reform has gained momentum in recent months amid widespread concerns over security challenges and calls for more localised policing to improve response times and intelligence gathering at the community level. Supporters of the bill argue that decentralised policing will enable states to respond more effectively to their unique security challenges, while critics warn of possible abuse of power by state governments and uneven capacity across states to fund and manage police forces. Under Nigeria’s constitutional amendment process, the bill must secure approval by two-thirds of both chambers of the National Assembly and be endorsed by at least 24 state Houses of Assembly before it can be transmitted for presidential assent. The Senate is expected to begin detailed legislative scrutiny of the proposal in the coming sessions as part of a broader constitutional reform package currently under review.