Kingsley Ohens reporting 

Abuja, Nigeria – In a landmark move aimed at overhauling Nigeria’s security architecture, the Senate on Wednesday passed the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Alteration) Bill, 2026, seeking to establish State Police Services across the federation.

The legislation seeks to amend the 1999 Constitution to create a legal framework for a dual policing system, allowing states to establish and operate their own police services alongside the Nigeria Police Force. The move is expected to strengthen community-based policing, improve intelligence gathering, and enhance responses to local security challenges.

The bill, titled “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),” was approved after consideration by the Committee of the Whole during plenary.

The passage marks a major milestone in Nigeria’s long-standing debate on decentralising policing amid rising concerns over insecurity across the country.

As a constitutional amendment, the bill must still secure concurrence by the House of Representatives (where required in identical form), receive approval from at least two-thirds of the 36 State Houses of Assembly, and thereafter be presented to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for assent before it becomes law.