Nasarawa Assembly joins 11 other states to approve bill

The Nasarawa State House of Assembly has accredited the structure modification bill looking for to set up state police, becoming a member of 11 other state legislatures which have endorsed the proposed reform.

The lawmakers unanimously accredited all 26 clauses of the Constitution (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026, throughout plenary in Lafia on Tuesday.

The bill, transmitted to state assemblies by the National Assembly for concurrence, seeks to amend the 1999 Constitution to present a authorized framework for establishing state police companies alongside the Nigeria Police Force.

The Speaker of the Assembly, Danladi Jatau, directed the Clerk of the House to talk the legislature’s decision to the National Assembly.

Nasarawa’s approval brings to 12 the variety of state assemblies which have endorsed the proposed modification. The other states are Edo, Osun, Oyo, Rivers, Zamfara, Plateau, Taraba, Ogun, Delta, Kwara and Adamawa.

The proposal is a part of ongoing efforts to reform Nigeria’s policing system amid persistent insecurity, together with kidnapping, banditry, communal violence and farmer-herder conflicts.

The proposed modification seeks to alter Sections 214, 215 and 216 of the Constitution and introduce a brand new Section 317A.

It additionally supplies for consequential amendments to constitutional provisions governing police service commissions and the administration of policing at federal and state ranges.

Under Section 9(2) of the 1999 Constitution, a constitutional modification requires the help of at the least two-thirds of the 36 state Houses of Assembly, equal to 24 states.

With 12 assemblies having accredited the proposal, one other 12 should endorse it to meet the constitutional threshold.

Supporters of state police argue that decentralising policing would enhance intelligence gathering, strengthen community-level safety and allow regulation enforcement businesses to reply extra successfully to native threats.

They additionally contend that state-based police companies may assist deal with the restrictions of a centralised policing construction in a rustic going through numerous safety challenges.

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However, critics have expressed considerations that governors may use state police to intimidate political opponents, journalists and other critics.

Questions have additionally been raised about funding, recruitment, operational independence, human rights protections and accountability.

At the federal degree, the Presidential Working Group on State Police has submitted a draft National Policing Bill and 29 consequential modification payments to the Federal Ministry of Justice for validation.

Nasarawa’s approval provides to the rising legislative help for the proposed reform, however state police can’t be established till the constitutional modification course of and other essential legislative procedures are accomplished.