The Senate on Wednesday finally passed a constitutional amendment bill to establish State Police nationwide, marking Nigeria’s most significant shift in security architecture since the 1999 Constitution.
The legislation, titled “A Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to Provide for the Establishment of State Police; and for Related Matters (Sixth Alteration)”, was approved at the Committee of the Whole under Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
The Executive Bill was transmitted to the National Assembly on Tuesday by President Bola Tinubu, who requested accelerated consideration. The Senate granted first, second and third readings during Wednesday’s plenary.
Voting followed a presentation of the bill’s general principles by Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, representing Ekiti Central, who urged colleagues to back the reform as a response to Nigeria’s worsening security crisis.
When the electronic voting system failed, senators resorted to a manual count. Lawmakers stood and raised their hands, and a majority of the 109-member chamber voted in favour of the amendment.
Leading the debate, Bamidele described the bill as one of the most consequential constitutional reforms in Nigeria’s democratic history, saying it addresses long-standing concerns about the structure, effectiveness and responsiveness of policing.
He recalled that the 1999 Constitution created a single, centrally controlled Nigeria Police Force. While that model served the country at independence, Bamidele argued that it is now inadequate for contemporary threats.
Nigeria’s size and diversity, he noted, make centralized policing unsustainable. With 36 states, the FCT, and varied cultures, languages, terrains
