Tinubu Sends State Police Bill to Senate in Security Reform Push

President Bola Tinubu has formally transmitted a bill seeking to establish state police services across the country to the Senate, marking a significant step in the federal government’s efforts to reform Nigeria’s security architecture.

The proposed legislation, titled the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Alteration) State Police Bill, 2026, seeks to amend the 1999 Constitution to create a constitutional framework for the establishment and operation of state police services.

In a letter addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and read on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday, Tinubu said the bill would provide a legal pathway for the creation of a dual policing system capable of addressing the country’s evolving security challenges.

“I am delighted to present to the Senate for consideration the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Alteration) State Police Bill, 2026, which seeks to amend the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 to create a constitutional pathway for the establishment of state police services in Nigeria,” the president stated.

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According to the President, the bill builds on previous legislative efforts undertaken by both chambers of the National Assembly and includes additional safeguards designed to ensure the effective implementation of a dual policing structure.

“The bill builds on the significant work already done in this regard by the House of Representatives and the Senate, and incorporates additional safeguards to ensure that the creation of a dual policing structure to address our nation’s evolving national security challenges will be achieved quickly and effectively to the benefit of all Nigerians,” he said.

The president described the proposed legislation as a critical component of his administration’s broader strategy to reorganise the nation’s security framework and to improve the protection of lives and property nationwide.

“The proposed legislation is a critical component of our administration’s strategy to reorganise Nigeria’s security architecture to better protect our citizens, and I am confident that the Senate will act quickly to consider and pass this bill,” Tinubu added.

The renewed push for state policing comes amid growing concerns over insecurity in several parts of the country, including banditry, kidnapping, terrorism and communal conflicts.

Advocates of state police have argued that decentralising policing would improve intelligence gathering, response times, and community-based security operations.

However, the proposal has also generated concerns among some stakeholders who fear that state-controlled police forces could be abused by governors for political purposes.

Read also: State police: Solution to Nigeria’s security crisis or a new political risk?

Successive administrations have debated the issue of state police, but constitutional amendments required to establish the system have repeatedly stalled.

Last Thursday, the Senate commenced legislative consideration of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026 (Establishment of State Police) (SB. 794), one of the most consequential constitutional amendment proposals since Nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1999.

The bill seeks to move policing from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent Legislative List, thereby empowering states to establish and operate their own police formations alongside the federal police.

Leading debate on the bill, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele described the proposal as one of the most significant security reforms contemplated since the return of democratic governance in 1999

“This constitutional amendment is one of the most significant security reforms contemplated since the return of democratic governance in 1999.

“It addresses a fundamental challenge confronting our nation: the inability of a centralised policing structure to adequately respond to the complex, evolving and localized security threats facing our communities,” he said.

Bamidele noted that Nigeria currently operates a single police force under Section 214 of the Constitution, a model he argued is no longer sufficient for a country of more than 230 million people facing increasingly complex security challenges.

According to him, the nation is confronted with terrorism, banditry, mass abductions, farmer-herder conflicts, cultism, armed robbery, pipeline vandalism, communal clashes and emerging cyber-enabled crimes, all of which require localised responses.

“Unfortunately, the centralised structure of the Nigeria Police Force has become overstretched, under-resourced and unable to provide the level of security required in a nation of over 230 million people spread across 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory,” he said.

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Making a case for the reform, the Senate Leader argued that security operations are often most effective when driven by officers who understand the terrain, language, culture and peculiar security dynamics of the communities they serve.

He said the establishment of state police would improve intelligence gathering, facilitate rapid response to security threats, strengthen community policing and ease the burden currently placed on the Nigeria Police Force.

“Modern policing relies heavily on intelligence rather than force. State Police will significantly strengthen Nigeria’s intelligence architecture,” he stated.

Under the proposal, the federal police would retain responsibility for interstate crimes, terrorism, organised criminal networks, border security, cybercrime, protection of federal assets and national security operations, while state police formations would focus on maintaining law and order within their respective jurisdictions.

The bill specifically seeks to establish federal and state police structures, define their respective responsibilities, create State Police Service Commissions, provide oversight mechanisms, transfer policing from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent Legislative List and strengthen cooperative federalism in security administration.

Bamidele argued that the proposal aligns with practices in other federal systems, including the United States, Canada, Australia and Germany, where sub-national policing institutions operate alongside federal law enforcement agencies.

“As such, Nigeria should not remain an exception among federal systems,” he said.