The Ekiti State House of Assembly has approved the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026, which seeks to establish State Police Services in Nigeria.
The bill passed second and third readings at Tuesday’s plenary, with all 21 members present voting in favour.
Speaker Rt. Hon. Adeoye Stephen Aribasoye directed the Clerk of the House to forward the bill to the National Assembly, together with the observations of the state legislature.
Aribasoye said state police had been at the centre of national debate for more than two decades, and that the Ekiti Assembly now had a historic opportunity to take a position.
He said Nigeria’s policing challenges demand practical solutions, adding that citizens had repeatedly complained about slow responses to distress calls, limited operational reach and the gap between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve.
According to the Speaker, weak and poorly coordinated local policing in some areas had fuelled insecurity, threatened livelihoods, disrupted education, hurt business confidence and eroded public trust.
He argued that a properly structured state police system, subject to constitutional safeguards, could improve accountability by placing policing leadership and oversight closer to the people and their elected representatives.
Describing state police as “a long-overdue practical necessity rather than a mere theoretical preference,” he said the country could not afford further delays in tackling insecurity.
In its report, the Committee of the Whole House recommended concurrence with the bill, subject to an amendment to Section 317A(5). The committee said it reviewed the bill clause by clause and examined the proposed constitutional framework for establishing and running State Police Services.
It proposed inserting the words “an Act of the National Assembly or a Law of the State House of Assembly, as applicable” after “this Constitution” in the new Section 317A(5).
The committee said the change is meant to expressly recognise the legislative authority of the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly, within their respective constitutional jurisdictions, to authorise relevant security arrangements.
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