Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele has said at least 30 state Houses of Assembly have approved a proposed constitutional amendment to establish state police, describing the development as a major step towards decentralizing Nigeria’s security system.
Bamidele, who is vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Constitution Review, made the disclosure during a lecture at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies in Kuru, Plateau State.
He said the reported state approvals satisfied the two thirds concurrence requirement under Section 9(2) of the Constitution and that the National Assembly aimed to complete the remaining legislative work by December 2026.
The Senate leader argued that locally organized policing could improve intelligence gathering, familiarity with communities and response to threats. He said the proposed model should operate within constitutional safeguards, oversight arrangements and human rights protections rather than create unchecked security forces.
His comments did not mean state police had already become operational. The supplied report describes a proposed amendment awaiting further formal legislative steps and presidential action.
In a wider address on lawmaking, Bamidele urged legislators to measure success by improvements in citizens’ lives rather than the number of statutes enacted. He pointed to reforms involving student loans, wages, taxation, investment, insurance and regional development.
He stressed that legislation must be properly funded, implemented, monitored and periodically reviewed to achieve its intended results. Bamidele also called for stronger collaboration between the National Assembly and NIPSS to support evidence based policymaking.
Before publication, the number and identities of approving state assemblies, the exact amendment text and the constitutional procedure remaining should be checked against official legislative records.
