State Police: Ekiti, Kebbi Endorse Bill, Tally Hits 15

The Ekiti and Kebbi State Houses of Assembly have endorsed the proposed constitutional amendment to establish state police, bringing to 15 the number of states that have backed the initiative aimed at decentralising policing and tackling insecurity across Nigeria.

While the Ekiti Assembly passed the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026, the Kebbi Assembly adopted a resolution in support of the proposed establishment of state police.

Before the latest endorsements, 13 states, including Osun, Edo, Oyo, Rivers, Zamfara, Kwara, Nasarawa, Ogun, Delta, Taraba, Cross River, Plateau and Enugu, had passed the bill.

The endorsements by Ekiti and Kebbi bring the number of states supporting the proposed amendment to 15. At least 24 of Nigeria’s 36 states, representing a two-thirds majority, are required to endorse the constitutional amendment.

In Kebbi State, 20 lawmakers supported the initiative during Wednesday’s plenary, presided over by the Speaker, Salihu Dangoje.

The resolution followed deliberations on a proposal presented by the Chairman of the House Committee on Internal Security, Muhammad Garba Bena.

Four members of the 24-member Assembly were reportedly absent from the session on official assignments.

Speaking after the plenary, Bena said the lawmakers supported the proposal because of the need to strengthen security operations and improve responses to threats in Kebbi State and other parts of the country.

According to him, the proposed arrangement would empower state governments to establish their own police services and recruit personnel in accordance with the law.

Bena said, “The establishment of state police will go a long way in strengthening security operations, improving responses to security threats and protecting lives and property in Kebbi State and Nigeria at large.”

The Speaker subsequently announced the Assembly’s adoption of the resolution in support of establishing state police services.

In Ekiti State, the Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Babatunde Oke, disclosed in a statement made available in Ado Ekiti on Wednesday that the bill was passed with the support of all 21 members present.

Oke said the Speaker, Adeoye Aribasoye, had directed the Clerk of the House to transmit the document to the National Assembly alongside the observations made by the state legislature.

He said the bill proposed a constitutional framework for the establishment and operation of decentralised policing in Nigeria.

According to Oke, Aribasoye described the proposal as an issue that had remained at the forefront of national discourse for more than two decades.

The Speaker said the Ekiti Assembly had a historic opportunity to make its position known, stressing the need for effective and responsive security arrangements.

He noted that Nigeria’s policing challenges required practical solutions capable of addressing the concerns of citizens.

Aribasoye said Nigerians had repeatedly expressed concerns about delays in responding to distress calls, limitations in operational reach and the distance between law enforcement agencies and the communities they were established to protect.

He added that inadequate and poorly coordinated local policing in some areas had contributed to insecurity, threatening livelihoods, disrupting education, undermining business confidence and eroding public trust.

The Speaker argued that a properly structured state police system could improve accountability by bringing policing leadership and oversight closer to the people and their elected representatives, subject to constitutional safeguards.

He said Nigeria could not afford unnecessary delays in addressing its security challenges, describing state police as a long-overdue practical necessity rather than a theoretical preference.

Oke further disclosed that the Committee of the Whole House, in its report on the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026, recommended that the Assembly concur with the proposed constitutional amendment, subject to an amendment to Section 317A(5).

According to him, the committee considered the bill clause by clause and deliberated on the proposed constitutional framework for the establishment and operation of state police services before recommending its adoption by the House.

The growing number of state endorsements marks a further step in the constitutional process, although the proposal still requires the support of at least 24 state Houses of Assembly to meet the required two-thirds threshold.