# Nigeria's Senate passes state-police amendment, ending a 47-year federal monopoly > Tinubu's executive bill clears the upper house; 24 of 36 state assemblies must still ratify before governors can run their own forces **Meta:** type: event · date: 2026-06-24 · heads: 谁说了算, 什么崩了 · 13 takes · 4 lenses · 3 regions ## Summary [Nigeria's](/zh/entity/nigeria) Senate passed the Constitution (Alteration) (State Police) Bill on June 24, clearing the way for the 36 states to run their own police forces alongside the federal force for the first time since the 1979 constitution centralised policing. The House of Representatives had passed its version on June 11. President [Bola Tinubu](/zh/entity/person/bola-tinubu) sent the measure as an executive bill, and it cleared with more than two-thirds support, every one of the 26 clauses drawing at least 80 affirmative votes. Under the text, each state force would be led by a commissioner the governor appoints and the state assembly confirms, while the federal police continues under the Inspector-General. The amendment still needs ratification by at least 24 of the 36 state assemblies before Tinubu can sign it. ## The split Nigerian dailies covered it as a near-done structural reform. The Sun and Tribune led with the governors and presidency watching the vote, framing speed and consensus. Opposition outlets pushed back: Vanguard carried the CUPP and PRP warnings that governors could turn local forces into political tools before the 2027 elections, and that the reform skips fixing the underfunded federal police. Foreign desks like Semafor framed it through banditry, jihadist insurgency and kidnapping, the security collapse driving the change, and stressed the long ratification road most coverage glossed. ## By the numbers - 26 clauses, all cleared the Senate, each with at least 80 affirmative votes. - 24 of 36, state assemblies that must ratify before presidential assent. - 47 years, since the 1979 constitution centralised policing under one federal force. - June 11, date the House of Representatives passed its version. ## Why it matters A single national police has failed to hold a country facing banditry in the northwest, [jihadist insurgency](/zh/entity/nigeria-insurgency) in the northeast and mass abductions. Devolving force to governors could plug gaps, or hand 36 governors armed leverage two years before a national election. The funding model is unresolved. ## What to watch - How fast the 24 state assemblies move, and which refuse. - The funding formula: who pays state commissioners and equipment. - Any clause limiting governors' operational command, the National Assembly trimmed some powers. - Knock-on demands from the South-East and South-West for faster rollout. ## Regional takes (batched by bias / lens) ### unlabelled - **Senate of Nigeria** (Nigeria, en) — Voice of Nigeria's record of the Senate passing the Constitution (Alteration) (State Police) Bill 2026, all 26 clauses cleared by hand vote after the electronic system was set aside. Source: https://von.gov.ng/nigerian-senate-passes-state-police-bill/ - **allAfrica / Daily Trust** (Nigeria, en) — Source: https://allafrica.com/stories/202606260134.html - **Tribune Online** (Nigeria, en) — Source: https://tribuneonlineng.com/senate-passes-state-police-bill/ - **Rio Times** (Brazil, en) — Source: https://www.riotimesonline.com/nigeria-state-police-2026/ - **Legit.ng** (Nigeria, en) — Source: https://www.legit.ng/politics/1716130-breaking-nigerian-senate-passes-constitutional-amendments-establish-state-police/ - **Daily Post** (Nigeria, en) — Source: https://dailypost.ng/2026/06/24/senate-set-to-vote-on-state-police-bill-other-key-constitutional-amendments-full-list/ - **Punch** (Nigeria, en) — Source: https://punchng.com/breaking-senate-passes-state-police-bill-empowers-govs-to-appoint-commissioners/ - **Channels Television** (Nigeria, en) — Source: https://www.channelstv.com/2026/06/24/senate-passes-bill-to-establish-state-police/ - **The Nation (Nigeria)** (Nigeria, en) — Source: https://thenationonlineng.net/senate-passes-state-police-biill/ - **Washington Times** (United States, en) — Source: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/jun/24/nigerias-senate-passes-bill-allow-creation-state-police-tackle/ ### Nigerian daily, process detail - **The Sun (Nigeria)** (Nigeria, en) — Reconstructs the floor vote with governors and the chief of staff watching from the VIP gallery. Frames the bill as a presidency-and-governors project pushed through fast, with each provision drawing at least 80 affirmative votes, and notes the switch to a show-of-hands vote over fears of technical glitches. > "Senators abandoned electronic voting and decided the historic amendment by standing and raising hands, under the watchful eyes of the presidency and powerful state governors." Source: https://thesun.ng/state-police-how-senators-passed-historic-constitutional-amendment-under-watchful-eyes-of-presidency-governors/ ### opposition / civil-society scrutiny - **Vanguard (CUPP reaction)** (Nigeria, en) — Carries the Conference of United Political Parties warning that decentralised policing could be weaponised for election interference and opposition suppression ahead of 2027, and that the reform is hasty while the federal force stays underfunded. > "Poorly implemented state police could be vulnerable to abuse, including political weaponisation, election interference, or suppression of opposition, the CUPP cautioned." Source: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2026/06/state-police-bill-reform-hasty-amid-failure-to-strengthen-npf-cupp/ ### explainer for outside readers - **Semafor** (United States, en) — Places the vote against banditry, jihadist insurgency and mass kidnappings that the single federal police has failed to contain, and stresses the long ratification road still ahead through the state assemblies. > "Supporters say state forces could strengthen security in areas hit by kidnappings and militant violence; two-thirds of state assemblies must still approve." Source: https://www.semafor.com/article/06/26/2026/nigeria-approves-constitutional-amendment-allowing-state-police-forces ## Across the graph - Related: [[nigeria-oyo-abduction-insecurity]], [[cameroon-ambazonia-belo-attack-2026]] - Entities: Nigeria, Person:bola Tinubu, Centre vs the States --- Canonical: https://rbtfl.xyz/zh/n/nigeria-state-police-amendment-2026