President Bola Tinubu has asked the House of Representatives to amend the 1999 Constitution to establish state police, a move that could fundamentally reshape Nigeria’s policing system and strengthen responses to growing insecurity across the country. The proposal was conveyed in a letter to Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, urging lawmakers to expedite consideration of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Alteration) (State Police) Bill, 2026.

The bill seeks to create a constitutional framework for state police services alongside the Nigeria Police Force, making it one of the administration’s most significant security reform proposals. The House has withdrawn its own state police bill to consider the President’s proposal instead.

The push follows years of debate over decentralised policing amid worsening banditry, kidnapping and communal violence. While supporters argue state police will improve local security, critics have consistently called for constitutional safeguards to prevent political abuse by state governments.