President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday transmitted a constitutional amendment to the Senate that would pave the way for State-controlled police forces, escalating a long-running debate over how to confront the nation’s security landscape.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio announced the submission during plenary and said Senators will begin consideration of the measure on Wednesday.
Senator Akpabio told lawmakers that state governments will be expected to review the proposal as part of the broader constitutional amendment process.
The bill seeks to alter provisions of the 1999 constitution to establish a legal framework for policing at the state level—a change proponents argue would allow local authorities to respond more nimbly to threats such as terrorism, banditry and rising kidnappings.
President Tinubu first urged the National Assembly in February to approve constitutional shifts that would permit states to run their own forces.
NewsQuest reports that in a Democracy Day address he highlighted recent security gains, saying “more than 13,000 terrorists had been neutralised within the last year” and that terrorism-related deaths had fallen.
He also acknowledged persistent problems, pointing to the continued abductions of schoolchildren in Oyo and Borno States.
The proposal has attracted renewed attention as lawmakers weigh decentralizing policing powers and consider procedural steps to fast-track the reform.
The Senate has scheduled an emergency plenary session to expedite deliberations.
