Twenty-four State Houses of Assembly have approved a proposed state police amendment bill to establish a dual policing system in Nigeria, reaching the required two-thirds threshold for constitutional modification.
Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to the President and Chairman of the Presidential Working Group on the State Police Bill, disclosed the development in a statement on Friday, October 23, 2026.
The statement confirmed that 24 of Nigeria’s 36 state assemblies ratified the Constitution (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026, which authorizes the creation of a parallel policing framework.
Following earlier approvals in both chambers of the National Assembly, the Presidential Working Group commended the state legislatures for their swift action on the bill.
The statement read, “In line with Section 9 of the Constitution, the amendment can now be returned to the National Assembly for transmission to Mr President for assent.”
The proposed amendment will provide constitutional backing to the policing framework outlined in the Presidential Working Group’s draft National Policing Bill, 2026.
October 30 timeline
The Federal Ministry of Justice is reviewing and validating the draft bills for legislative drafting, with plans to return the finalized documents by Friday, October 30, 2026.
Following this review, the panel will conduct a final evaluation before submitting the bills to President Bola Tinubu.
To enhance security nationwide, the Working Group urged stakeholders to support a seamless transition toward the new dual policing system.
Backstory…
Recall that Chief of Staff to the President Femi Gbajabiamila stated on October 15 that the Presidential Working Group had brought the draft National Policing Bill to 90% completion, setting it up for final submission to the National Assembly.
Additionally, subsequent report indicated that five state assemblies—Ogun, Delta, Plateau, Kwara, and Adamawa—approved the constitutional amendment on October 21, pushing the total number of ratifying states to ten at that time.
More recently, on October 23, the State Houses of Assembly of Ekiti and Kebbi have formally backed the proposed constitutional amendment for the establishment of state police, with Ekiti passing the bill and Kebbi adopting a resolution endorsing decentralized policing to combat insecurity.
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