Nigeria’s Senate has begun its final debate on the proposed State Police Bill, a landmark constitutional amendment that could fundamentally reshape the country’s security architecture by allowing states to establish and operate their own police forces alongside the federal police.
The legislation, which enjoys broad bipartisan backing, is seen as one of the most significant security reforms since Nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1999. Supporters argue that decentralising policing will enable quicker responses to local threats and improve intelligence gathering in communities affected by banditry, terrorism, kidnappings and communal violence.
Leading the push for the amendment, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele said the growing insecurity across the country has exposed the limitations of a centrally controlled police system and underscored the urgency of the reform. He maintained that empowering states to manage their own police structures would strengthen, rather than weaken, Nigeria’s federal system.
The proposed law provides for the creation of both federal and state police services, with clearly defined responsibilities, oversight mechanisms and safeguards designed to prevent political abuse by state governments. It also seeks to move policing from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent Legislative List, allowing both federal and state authorities to share policing responsibilities.
If approved by the Senate, the constitutional amendment will require ratification by at least two-thirds of Nigeria’s 36 State Houses of Assembly before it can be signed into law by President Bola Tinubu.
While advocates describe the bill as a long-overdue response to Nigeria’s worsening security challenges, critics have raised concerns that state police could be exploited by governors for political purposes and that financially weaker states may struggle to sustain independent police forces.
The final Senate debate is expected to determine whether Nigeria moves closer to one of the most far-reaching constitutional and security reforms in its recent history.
