Nigeria House passes Police Bill, Senate sends to committee

A landmark constitutional amendment to establish state police in Nigeria has advanced significantly in the National Assembly, with the House of Representatives passing the bill and the Senate moving it to a key committee for review. The parallel actions on June -11, 2026, represent a major step toward decentralizing the country's security architecture amid widespread concerns over persistent violence.

The House of Representatives passed the State Police Bill during its plenary session. A manual vote showed overwhelming support, with 289 lawmakers in favor, one abstention, and none opposed. The bill seeks to amend the 1999 Constitution to create both Federal and State Police formations, moving policing from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent Legislative List. It stipulates that a state police force can only begin operations after being established by a state's assembly and certified as meeting national minimum standards set by the National Assembly. Until such a force is operational, federal police would retain authority in that state.

In the Senate, the same bill passed its second reading and was referred to the Adhoc Committee on the Review of the 1999...