By Our Reporter, With Agency Reports
THE PROPOSED constitutional amendment to establish a dual policing system in Nigeria has secured approval from 24 State Houses of Assembly, meeting the two-thirds threshold required for the alteration of the Constitution.
The Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill announced the development on Friday in Abuja in a statement signed by its chairman and Chief of Staff to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila.
The amendment is contained in the Constitution (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026, which seeks to provide constitutional backing for a policing structure comprising the Federal Police Service and State Police Services.
Under Section 9 of the 1999 Constitution, a constitutional alteration passed by the National Assembly must also be approved by resolutions of at least two-thirds of the 36 State Houses of Assembly.
The required threshold is therefore 24 states. The National Assembly transmitted the Sixth Alteration Bill to the state legislatures on September 16, 2026, for consideration and approval.
The Working Group said the 24-state approval represented a major step in the reform process and commended the state legislatures for supporting what it described as a reform of national importance.
It also acknowledged the National Assembly for passing the constitutional amendment in both chambers.
According to Gbajabiamila, the amendment can now be returned to the National Assembly for onward transmission to President Bola Tinubu, in line with the process outlined by the Working Group.
The constitutional amendment is intended to provide the legal foundation for the broader policing reforms being developed by the Federal Government.
The separate draft National Policing Bill, 2026, is designed to establish the operational and institutional framework for the proposed dual system.
The Presidency said on October 20 that the Working Group had submitted the draft National Policing Bill, along with 29 consequential amendment bills, to the Federal Ministry of Justice for legislative drafting review and validation.
The ministry is expected to return the documents to the Working Group on or before October 30 for final consideration before they are presented to the President.
The proposed framework is expected to address issues including recruitment, training, funding, jurisdiction, oversight, human rights protections and the conditions under which states can establish and operate their own police services.
The Working Group had earlier said states would need credible arrangements for areas such as vetting, pay, pensions, equipment, complaints, discipline, firearms control and financial sustainability before commencing state policing.
The push for state police has been part of President Tinubu’s broader security reform agenda. The Presidency has argued that a more decentralised policing structure could strengthen local intelligence gathering and improve the capacity of sub-national governments to respond to security challenges.
Gbajabiamila said the constitutional approval provides the necessary backing for the policing framework contained in the draft National Policing Bill.
The Working Group urged stakeholders to support what it described as a smooth transition to a dual policing system aimed at improving public safety and making Nigerians safer.
