The proposed establishment of state police services in Nigeria has crossed a decisive constitutional hurdle, with 24 State Houses of Assembly officially endorsing the Constitution (Sixth Alteration) Bill.
With 24 states granting legislative concurrence, the bill has now successfully met the mandatory two-thirds constitutional benchmark (24 out of 36 states) required under Section 9 of the 1999 Constitution for a constitutional amendment to proceed to the next phase.
Legislative reports indicate that additional State Houses of Assembly are scheduled to conclude committee deliberations and executive sessions next week to transmit their official positions to the National Assembly.
Breakdown of State Assembly Approvals
Out of the 24 approving state legislatures, 14 belong to the Southern region while 10 represent Northern states. Kaduna State recently joined the concurring assemblies following a unanimous vote endorsing amendments to pave the way for sub-national policing frameworks.
The 24 States That Have Passed the Bill:
- Abia State
- Adamawa State
- Akwa Ibom State
- Anambra State
- Bayelsa State
- Benue State
- Cross River State
- Delta State
- Edo State
- Ekiti State
- Enugu State
- Imo State
- Kaduna State
- Kebbi State
- Kwara State
- Nasarawa State
- Ogun State
- Osun State
- Oyo State
- Plateau State
- Rivers State
- Taraba State
- Yobe State
- Zamfara State
12 States Yet to Conclude Deliberations
While the constitutional threshold has been reached, 12 states—consisting of 3 Southern and 9 Northern states—are still undergoing legislative processes, committee reviews, or awaiting plenary reconvention.
States Awaited:
- Southern Region (3): Lagos, Ondo, Ebonyi
- Northern Region (9): Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kogi, Niger, Sokoto
