Rivers Assembly Backs State Police Constitutional Amendment

The Rivers State House of Assembly has officially endorsed the proposed constitutional amendment aimed at establishing state police across Nigeria. This endorsement comes as part of a broader policing reform initiative currently under consideration by state legislatures.

The resolution was made following the transmission of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026, by the National Assembly to the 36 state Houses of Assembly for their consideration and approval. The bill seeks to amend the 1999 Constitution to create a legal framework for state police, which would change Nigeria's centralized policing structure.

The endorsement occurred on a Monday, making Rivers one of the states to formally support the constitutional alteration. The transmission of the bill was communicated by the Clerk to the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana, on September 16, 2026.

According to Section 9 of the 1999 Constitution, a constitutional amendment requires the approval of at least two-thirds of the state Houses of Assembly, which translates to 24 out of 36 states. Although there is no statutory deadline for the resolutions, the National Assembly has set a 30-day timeframe for consideration.