Two more state legislatures—Ekiti and Kebbi—have endorsed the bill for the creation of state police, bringing the total number of states supporting the proposal to 15 and moving supporters closer to the two-thirds threshold needed to reshape the country’s security architecture.
The Ekiti State House of Assembly passed the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026, with all 21 members present voting in favor.
In Kebbi, lawmakers adopted a resolution backing the creation of state police services, with 20 of the 24-member chamber supporting the measure during a session led by Speaker Salihu Dangoje.
The approvals bring the number of state assemblies publicly backing the amendment to 15, according to the report.
That remains short of the 24-state minimum required under Section 9(2) of the constitution, which demands approval by two-thirds of the 36 state legislatures.
The proposed amendment would replace the unitary Nigeria Police Force with a federal police service and separate state police services, giving governors and state institutions a direct role in recruitment, administration, and local security operations.
The National Assembly transmitted the bill to all 36 state assemblies on September 16 after both chambers passed it earlier in the year.
Supporters argue that a decentralized force would shorten response times, improve local intelligence, and place police leadership closer to the communities they serve.
Ekiti State House of Assembly Speaker Adeoye Aribasoye said Nigerians have repeatedly raised concerns over delayed responses to distress calls, limited operational reach, and the distance between law-enforcement agencies and local communities.
“Inadequate and poorly coordinated local policing in some areas has contributed to insecurity, threatening livelihoods, disrupting education, undermining business confidence and eroding public trust,” he said in a statement issued by the assembly’s media committee chairman, Babatunde Oke.
The reform’s advocates frame state policing as a practical response to persistent insecurity, including banditry, kidnapping and communal violence.
However, the proposal still faces a demanding ratification process: even after Ekiti and Kebbi’s endorsements, at least nine additional state assemblies would need to approve the measure.
Ekiti lawmakers granted concurrence subject to an amendment to Section 317A(5), signaling that states may seek changes to the bill’s oversight and operational provisions even as they endorse its central objective.
The assembly has directed its clerk to forward the passed document and its observations to the National Assembly.
Kebbi’s Internal Security Committee Chairman Muhammad Bena said the proposal would strengthen security operations and improve responses to threats in the state and nationally.
“The establishment of state police will go a long way in strengthening security operations, improving responses to security threats and protecting lives and property in Kebbi State and Nigeria at large,” he said.
The bill’s progress will now depend on whether the remaining legislatures act before political momentum fades.
Earlier tallies varied as assemblies considered the measure, underscoring the difficulty of tracking formal ratifications across the federal system; some outlets counted 10 approvals as of October 20, while others reported 13 before Ekiti and Kebbi acted.
If 24 states ultimately concur, the amendment would mark one of the most consequential changes to the nation’s security governance since the 1999 Constitution took effect, shifting a system built around a single national police force toward a federally supervised but locally administered model.
