President Bola Tinubu addressing lawmakers during a national event after transmitting a Constitution Amendment Bill seeking the establishment of state police
President Bola Tinubu has transmitted a Constitution Alteration Bill to the Senate seeking the establishment of state police across Nigeria.
The bill seeks to amend relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution to provide a legal framework for the creation of state-controlled policing structures in the federation.
The development comes amid renewed debate on security reforms and calls for decentralisation of the country’s policing system.
Tinubu had in February urged the National Assembly to amend the Constitution to allow states take greater responsibility for internal security, citing rising threats from terrorism, banditry and other violent crimes.
The President, in his Democracy Day address, restated his administration’s commitment to tackling insecurity, vowing stronger action against terrorists, bandits and their sponsors.
He said more than 13,000 terrorists had been neutralised within the last year and noted a decline in terrorism-related deaths compared to previous years.
Tinubu also acknowledged ongoing security challenges, including the continued captivity of schoolchildren abducted in parts of Oyo and Borno States.
The state police proposal has gained traction in the National Assembly, with both chambers advancing constitutional amendment processes aimed at decentralising policing powers to the states.
The Senate is expected to reconvene for an emergency plenary session as lawmakers consider the bill, described as one of the most significant security reform proposals in the country’s democratic history.
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