The House of Representatives on Thursday passed a constitutional amendment bill to create state police across Nigeria, while retaining the Nigeria Police Force as a federal institution.
The bill amends key sections of the 1999 Constitution to provide a framework for the establishment, funding, regulation and operation of state police services, alongside the existing federal police structure.
Under the proposed law, state governors will appoint commissioners of police for their states, acting on the advice of a newly created National Police Council and subject to confirmation by state houses of assembly. Governors may also issue lawful directives on public safety, though commissioners can challenge directives they consider unlawful, with the National Police Council having final say.
A state police service can only begin operations after a state assembly passes an enabling law and the National Assembly certifies it meets national minimum standards, ensuring uniform benchmarks across the federation.
The bill establishes a dual policing system in which federal police will continue performing national security functions and may assist state police when needed. However, federal police are barred from interfering in state police operations except in cases of a total breakdown of law and order, a governor’s request, or institutional failure—and only with National Police Council approval.
To prevent arbitrary dismissals, the inspector-general of police can only be removed on serious grounds such as gross misconduct or mental incapacity, with approval from two-thirds of the National Assembly. State commissioners face a similar process requiring two-thirds approval from state assemblies.
The bill also expands the renamed National Police Council to include representatives from civil society, labour unions, the legal profession, traditional rulers and human rights bodies, while creating State Police Service Commissions to oversee recruitment and discipline below the rank of assistant commissioner.
Additionally, the Federal Government may provide grants to support state police funding, and state police will be granted limited access to light arms, biometric data and forensic records for policing purposes.
The bill is part of broader efforts by the National Assembly to overhaul Nigeria’s security architecture amid sustained pressure for decentralised policing.
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