33 States Now Back State Police Constitutional Amendment

Thirty-three state legislatures have now approved a constitutional amendment to create state police services in Nigeria, marking substantial progress toward restructuring the country's security framework. Kano State's House of Assembly became the latest to pass the bill during Tuesday plenary, according to reports from late October.

The passage leaves only three states yet to ratify the proposed amendment, which would fundamentally alter how law enforcement operates across Nigeria's 36 states. Recent approvals have come from across the country, including Jigawa, Bauchi, Sokoto, and Lagos state assemblies.

Legislative leaders have cited the need for localized security responses and the advantages of recruiting personnel with regional knowledge. In Lagos, lawmakers stressed the importance of clearly defining the functions and scope of state police operations.

The Speaker of the Jigawa assembly noted that the legislative process took several weeks to ensure thorough examination of implementation concerns and legal safeguards. The constitutional amendment process reflects a longstanding debate within Nigerian governance structures.

Lagos legislators mentioned that the establishment of state police has been discussed continuously across multiple parliamentary sessions, from the fifth to the tenth assemblies, with successive governments exploring mechanisms to enhance security infrastructure at the sub-national level. The sources report varying timelines on when the total number of approving states was reached, with one report stating 27 states had passed the bill at an earlier point and another indicating 32 states had approved it before Kano's passage.

The exact sequence and dating of these approvals contain minor inconsistencies across the available reports. Once the remaining three states complete their ratification, the constitutional amendment would be positioned for final approval in the broader national process.