State Police Reform Reaches 13 Assembly Approvals, Still Short of Constitutional Threshold
ABUJA — Nigeria’s state-police reform has gained further state-level support, with 13 Houses of Assembly now reported to have approved the constitutional amendment, but the proposal remains 11 approvals short of the minimum 24 required.
The latest reported approvals bring the tally to 13 as state legislatures continue considering the constitutional alteration transmitted to them by the National Assembly.
The count is dynamic and should be refreshed immediately before publication.
13 approvals do not complete the process
The constitutional amendment is intended to create a legal framework for state police services alongside the existing federal police structure.
But the current tally does not mean state police have been established.
At least 24 of Nigeria’s 36 state assemblies must approve the alteration before it can move through the remaining constitutional stages.
That means the reform is currently 11 approvals short of the minimum state-level threshold.
13 approvals ≠ constitutional completion.
No state police service has become operational under this amendment.
Separate National Policing Bill remains under review
A second legal process is moving alongside the constitutional amendment.
The Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill has submitted the National Policing Bill 2026 and 29 consequential amendment bills to the Federal Ministry of Justice for legislative drafting review and validation.
The submission was made on October 19.
The Justice Ministry is expected to return the validated drafts to the working group by October 30, after which the group is expected to give them final consideration before presentation to the President and possible onward transmission to the National Assembly.
The bill is therefore not yet before the National Assembly and is not law.
Two related but distinct tracks
The constitutional amendment and the National Policing Bill are connected, but they are not the same instrument.
The constitutional alteration deals with the underlying constitutional framework.
The National Policing Bill is intended to provide the legislative architecture for a dual policing structure involving federal and state police services.
Treating both tracks as a single completed reform would overstate how far the process has advanced.
What the current tally means
The latest count shows growing support among state legislatures.
But the constitutional arithmetic remains decisive.
At least 11 additional state assemblies must approve the amendment before the minimum threshold is reached.
Even then, that would not by itself make state police operational.
Further constitutional and legislative steps would still be required.
Safeguards remain central
The public-interest question is not only whether state police will be created.
The eventual framework will also determine how any state police service is funded, supervised and held accountable.
Key issues include:
- political control;
- recruitment standards;
- complaints and discipline;
- protection against abuse;
- coordination with federal policing;
- funding responsibility;
- and enforceable rights safeguards.
Those questions will become more concrete when final legislative texts are available.
What happens next
For the constitutional track:
- more state assemblies must vote;
- at least 24 must approve;
- the process must complete the remaining constitutional stages.
For the National Policing Bill:
- Justice Ministry review must be completed;
- the working group must reconsider the validated draft;
- the proposal must be presented to the President;
- and any subsequent transmission to the National Assembly would begin the federal legislative process.
Until those stages are completed, the safe position remains:
state-police reform has advanced, but state police have not yet been constitutionally established or made operational.