The Nigerian Senate has outlined measures aimed at preventing the misuse of state police by governors following the passage of a constitutional amendment bill seeking to establish state policing across the country.
Speaking during deliberations on the Constitution Alteration (State Police) Bill, 2026, Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, said the proposed framework contains provisions designed to ensure state police are not deployed for political, ethnic, religious, or personal interests.
According to Bamidele, the bill seeks to create a decentralised policing structure while maintaining national unity and accountability.
“The proposed law is designed to guarantee that state police services operate within the bounds of the Constitution and are not used for partisan, ethnic, religious, sectional, or personal purposes,” he said.
The Senate approved the bill after a clause-by-clause consideration and a manual vote in which more than two-thirds of lawmakers supported the amendment.
Under the proposal, the Nigeria Police Force would continue to handle federal policing responsibilities, including counter-terrorism operations, organised crime, cybercrime investigations, border security, arms trafficking, and other matters of national security.
Bamidele explained that state police services would focus on enforcing state laws, maintaining public order, preventing and detecting crimes within their jurisdictions, and protecting lives and property.
He also noted that federal authorities would only intervene in state policing under specific circumstances.
“Federal intervention can only occur in situations such as a breakdown of public order, inability of a state police service to function effectively, serious violations of fundamental rights, electoral intimidation, or threats to national security,” he stated.
The Senate Leader added that any such intervention would require written authorisation from the President and would be subject to Senate oversight as well as judicial review.
Supporting the bill, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe acknowledged that he had previously opposed the idea of state police but said worsening insecurity across the country had changed his position.
“The current security challenges facing the federation make the establishment of state police necessary,” Abaribe said.
Former Sokoto State Governor and Senator Aminu Tambuwal also expressed support for the proposal, while Senate Chief Whip Tahir Monguno urged lawmakers to back the amendment, describing it as a critical step toward strengthening security at the subnational level.
The bill will now proceed to the House of Representatives and must also receive presidential assent and approval from a majority of state Houses of Assembly before becoming law.
