The senate has approved measures aimed at preventing governors from abusing the proposed state police structure for partisan, ethnic, religious, sectional, or personal interests.
The safeguards form part of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (alteration) (state police) Bill, 2026, passed by the upper chamber on Wednesday.
Leading the debate on the bill, Opeyemi Bamidele, senate leader, said the proposed constitutional amendment seeks to create a decentralised policing system while preserving national cohesion, accountability and federal oversight.
Bamidele said the bill was transmitted to the national assembly by President Bola Tinubu to establish state police services alongside the existing federal policing structure.
He said the proposed amendment would empower the national assembly to prescribe national minimum standards for recruitment, training, vetting, promotions, discipline, use of force, firearms, complaints procedures, accountability, data management, and professional conduct.
The senate leader said the bill seeks to retain the federal police for national policing responsibilities while allowing states that choose to do so to establish their own police services.
According to him, state police services would be responsible for enforcing state laws, maintaining public safety and public order, preventing and detecting crimes within their jurisdictions, protecting lives and property, and carrying out other local policing duties.
He said the federal police would continue to oversee the protection of federal institutions, counter-terrorism operations, organised crime, cybercrime, border security, arms trafficking, interstate criminal activities, and other matters relating to national security.
FEDERAL INTERVENTION TO BE SUBJECT TO OVERSIGHT
Bamidele said the bill clearly defines the circumstances under which federal authorities may intervene in the affairs of state police services.
He said such intervention could only occur in cases involving a breakdown of public order, the inability of a state police service to function, serious violations of fundamental rights, electoral intimidation, or threats to national security.
The senate leader said any intervention must be authorised in writing by the president.
He added that such intervention would be limited in scope and duration, subject to senate oversight and open to judicial review.
“The bill provides robust safeguards against abuse, preserves federal authority where necessary, protects constitutional rights and creates a modern policing framework capable of addressing contemporary security challenges,” he said.
He added that the proposal seeks “to balance local policing autonomy with national cohesion, accountability with operational effectiveness and federal oversight with state responsibility”.
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