By KosofePost Reporter
The Nigerian Senate on Wednesday passed the State Police Bill, marking a significant step towards restructuring the country’s security architecture from a centralized policing system to a federal model that empowers states to establish their own police services.
The bill, titled, “A Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to Provide for State Police and Related Matters, 2026,” was passed following a clause-by-clause consideration by the Committee of the Whole.
According to the report of the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, chaired by Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau, the proposed legislation will allow states to create their own police services while adhering to national minimum standards and constitutional safeguards, with federal oversight in clearly defined exceptional circumstances.
The committee described the bill as one of the most significant institutional reforms proposed during the current constitutional review process. It noted that the reform seeks to address longstanding concerns about the effectiveness, responsiveness, and sustainability of Nigeria’s current unitary policing structure.
Presenting the lead debate on the bill, Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, explained that the legislation was an Executive Bill transmitted by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Bamidele said Nigeria’s vast geographical spread and diverse cultural, linguistic, and socio-economic realities have made the country’s security challenges increasingly complex.
He noted that threats such as terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, communal conflicts, farmer-herder clashes, cybercrime, and organized criminal networks have placed enormous pressure on the existing policing framework, making security sector reform imperative.
Speaking after the passage of the bill, Senate President Godswill Akpabio expressed optimism that the proposed state policing structure would strengthen security across the country.
“It is my prayer that Nigerians will become safer and that the challenges of kidnapping, banditry and terrorism will not only be minimised but reduced to the barest minimum,” Akpabio said.
He added that he was confident Nigeria would overcome terrorism and banditry through sustained institutional reforms and collective national efforts.
The passage of the State Police Bill represents a major milestone in Nigeria’s ongoing constitutional amendment process and reflects growing consensus on the need for a more decentralized and locally responsive security system capable of addressing the country’s evolving security challenges.