Senate Passes State Police Bill

… adopts manual voting following system failure

By Henry Umoru

ABUJA — On Wednesday, the Senate approved a landmark constitutional amendment bill that would create state police services across the country, advancing Nigeria’s longstanding push to decentralise policing and bolster internal security.

The bill, officially named “A Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to Provide for the Establishment of State Police and Related Matters (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026 (SB. 1055)”, received approval from the Committee of the Whole, chaired by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

Its passage replaces the current Nigeria Police Force framework with a dual structure that includes a Federal Police Service and State Police Services.

The bill establishes a constitutional foundation for state policing, creating state police commissions, and maintains the federal police presence in each state until a state police service is operational.

Under the new arrangement, the Federal Police Service will handle federal offences, security in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), national security issues, interstate crimes, and organised criminal activity.

State police services will, conversely, be tasked with local