Nigeria’s long-running push to establish state police has gained fresh momentum, with 25 state Houses of Assembly approving a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow state governments to create and operate their own police forces.

The development brings the country closer to a major overhaul of its security architecture, potentially ending the federal government’s exclusive control over policing and giving state authorities greater responsibility for tackling crimes within their territories.

The proposal has cleared a key constitutional hurdle, as approval by at least 24 of Nigeria’s 36 state legislatures is required to meet the two-thirds threshold for constitutional amendments. With 25 states now supporting the measure, the proposal has secured the required backing at the state level.

The states that have approved the amendment are Ogun, Delta, Plateau, Kwara, Adamawa, Edo, Osun, Oyo, Rivers, Zamfara, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Benue, Cross River, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Taraba, Yobe and Kebbi.

The Senate approved the proposed amendment in June, followed by the House of Representatives in July. The Clerk to the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana, subsequently forwarded the bill to state legislatures for consideration.

Under Section 9(2) of the 1999 Constitution, a constitutional amendment must receive the support of at least two-thirds of the members of each chamber of the National Assembly and resolutions approving it from at least two-thirds of the state Houses of Assembly.

Nigeria currently operates a centralised policing system under which the Nigeria Police Force is controlled by the Federal Government. Policing is also listed among the matters on which only the National Assembly can legislate.

If the proposed amendment completes the remaining constitutional procedures, policing would move from the exclusive legislative list to the concurrent legislative list, allowing both federal and state lawmakers to make laws governing the sector within their respective areas of authority.

The proposed arrangement would create separate federal and state police structures, with each force operating within clearly defined responsibilities. The Nigeria Police Force would continue to provide security in a state until that state establishes its own police formation.

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Once established, a state police force would take responsibility for policing within its jurisdiction, while the federal police would continue performing duties assigned to it under federal law.

The proposal also envisages circumstances in which the Federal Government could intervene in the administration or internal security operations of a state police force.

Such intervention could become necessary where a serious breakdown of law and order exceeds the capacity of the state police, where a governor formally requests federal assistance, or where administrative, financial or other difficulties prevent a state police formation from functioning effectively.

These provisions are intended to establish boundaries between federal and state policing responsibilities while retaining a mechanism for addressing exceptional security emergencies.

Despite the latest progress, the approval by the state assemblies does not, on its own, bring state police into operation. The National Assembly must complete the remaining constitutional procedures before the amendment can be transmitted to President Bola Tinubu for assent.

Meanwhile, the Presidential Working Group on Police Reform has disclosed that a National Policing Bill would soon be presented to the National Assembly. The proposed legislation is expected to support the government's broader efforts to restructure and modernise policing in Nigeria.

The latest development marks a significant step in the debate over decentralising security, an issue that has attracted growing attention amid persistent insecurity across several parts of the country.

However, the final outcome will depend on the completion of the constitutional process and the legal framework that will determine how federal and state police forces operate, coordinate their activities and exercise their powers.