The Rivers State House of Assembly has approved the constitutional amendment bill seeking to create state police, becoming the second legislature to endorse the proposal as the Kano Assembly opened its own deliberation on the same day.
All 25 members of the Rivers Assembly voted in favour of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026 during Monday’s plenary in Port Harcourt. The bill would amend the Constitution to allow states to run their own police services while the Nigeria Police Force continues at the federal level.
Speaker Martin Amaewhule said the vote followed consultations by members with their constituents. He told the House the amendment would provide a constitutional pathway for state police while allowing the National Assembly to set minimum policing standards nationwide.
According to the speaker, the bill contains 26 clauses, including 25 proposed alterations to sections of the 1999 Constitution, among them Sections 84(4), 89(2), 109(2), 121(3), 124(4), 153(1), 157(2), 158(1) and 160. He said the 10th Assembly was fully in support of the measure and framed it as backing for efforts to improve security across the country.
The Rivers approval came days after the National Assembly transmitted the bill to the 36 state Houses of Assembly on 16 September for consideration. The National Assembly has clarified that the State Police Services Bill is the only constitutional alteration proposal so far sent to the states, separating it from the wider package of amendments still under review.
Osun was the first state to approve the bill, making Rivers the second on the record so far. Reports on the transmission also indicate that some assemblies are still at an early stage, with Borno confirming receipt but fixing no date, and Edo indicating it was yet to receive the document at the time of those reports.
In Kano, deliberation began the same Monday. The Majority Leader of the Kano Assembly, Lawan Hussaini Chediyar Yangurasa, confirmed that the bill was read on the floor and referred to the Committee on Rules and Business, which will study it and return recommendations to the House.
Yangurasa said the Assembly would act once the committee submits its report. “The Assembly will take all necessary steps on the bill once the committee submits its report,” he said.
The wider process is set out in the Constitution itself. Under Section 9, an alteration of this kind must be passed by two-thirds of the National Assembly and then ratified by at least 24 of the 36 state Houses of Assembly before it can proceed to presidential assent. That threshold makes the coming weeks decisive, as each state vote counts towards the required two-thirds.
The bill reaches the states after a long march through the federal legislature. The House of Representatives passed the state police amendment at second reading in early 2024, and both chambers completed consideration in mid-2026, with the Senate concluding its work in June after President Bola Tinubu transmitted the alteration bill to the upper chamber. The proposal would move policing from the exclusive control of the Federal Government to a dual structure of federal and state police services.
Tinubu has been the most prominent voice for the reform. He has argued on several occasions that state police would strengthen grassroots security and improve response to threats such as banditry, kidnapping and communal violence, presenting decentralised policing as a complement to, rather than a replacement for, the federal structure. Support at the executive level has also been reflected at the National Economic Council, where governors submitted reports backing the creation of state police.
The idea has support and reservations in almost equal measure. Those in favour say policing works better when officers are drawn from and answerable to the communities they serve, giving them closer access to local intelligence. Critics have long warned that governors could turn state controlled forces against political opponents, a concern that has shadowed the debate since Nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1999.
For now, the reform rests with the states. With Osun and Rivers recorded in favour and Kano among those still reviewing, the number of assemblies that endorse the bill in the coming weeks will determine whether it clears the constitutional threshold and moves to the President for assent.