The National Assembly has until December 2026 to complete the remaining legislative processes for the establishment of state police in Nigeria, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele has said.
Bamidele disclosed this on Thursday while addressing participants of Senior Executive Course 48 at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Plateau State.
He said the approval of the constitutional amendment bill by at least 30 state Houses of Assembly had satisfied the required constitutional threshold for amending the 1999 Constitution.
The development marks a major step towards decentralising Nigeria’s security architecture after more than 15 years of unsuccessful attempts to introduce state police through constitutional reform.
However, the process is not yet complete, as the National Assembly must still consider the positions of the state legislatures, pass the required resolution and transmit the amendment to President Bola Tinubu for assent.
Bamidele, who is also Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, said lawmakers had agreed on a timeline to conclude the outstanding stages.
“We have set a clear timeline for ourselves. We intend to conclude all these legislative stages – consideration of reports, passage of resolution, and transmission for presidential assent – on or before December 2026,” he said.
How State Police Will Work
The Senate Leader said the proposed state police system would enable individual states to develop policing structures that better understand their local environments, speak indigenous languages and respond more effectively to community security challenges.
He explained that the reform was not intended to establish state armies or weaken the Federal Government.
Rather, Bamidele said, it would strengthen Nigeria’s federal system through state-led, community-based policing backed by constitutional safeguards, operational standards, oversight mechanisms and human rights protections.
Bamidele Speaks on Legislative Performance
Beyond the proposed security reform, Bamidele questioned the tendency to measure legislative performance solely by the number of laws passed.
He argued that legislation could only deliver meaningful results when supported by effective implementation, adequate funding, proper administration and regular monitoring.
He also called for stronger collaboration between NIPSS and the National Assembly, noting that the institute’s multidisciplinary approach could help lawmakers develop evidence-based policies and improve legislative foresight.
The proposed establishment of state police remains one of Nigeria’s major constitutional reform initiatives, with the outstanding legislative steps expected to determine whether the country moves closer to decentralising its policing system.
