State Police: Tinubu Sends Amendment Bill to Senate

President Bola Tinubu has formally submitted a constitutional amendment bill to the Senate seeking the creation of state police across Nigeria.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio announced the development during Tuesday’s plenary session, revealing that lawmakers are expected to begin consideration of the bill on Wednesday.

According to Akpabio, state governments have also indicated their readiness to review the proposal as soon as it is transmitted to them.

The bill aims to amend key sections of the 1999 Constitution to establish a legal framework that would allow individual states to operate their own police forces alongside existing federal security structures.

The proposal comes amid growing calls for a decentralised policing system to address the country’s persistent security challenges. President Tinubu has repeatedly advocated constitutional reforms that would give states greater responsibility for safeguarding lives and property within their jurisdictions.

In February, the President urged the National Assembly to fast-track amendments that would pave the way for state police, arguing that the measure is crucial to combating terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other violent crimes.

Speaking during his Democracy Day address earlier this month, Tinubu reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to tackling insecurity, warning that terrorists, bandits and their sponsors would face severe consequences under the law.

The President disclosed that security operations had neutralised more than 13,000 terrorists over the past year, adding that deaths linked to terrorism had declined significantly compared to previous years.

Despite the progress, Tinubu acknowledged that the continued captivity of some schoolchildren abducted in Oyo and Borno states highlights the security concerns that still confront the nation.

Momentum for the state police initiative has continued to build in recent months, with both chambers of the National Assembly advancing constitutional amendment efforts designed to devolve certain policing powers to state governments.

The Senate is also expected to reconvene for an emergency plenary session as lawmakers work to push forward what could become one of the most significant security reforms since Nigeria’s return to democratic rule.