The Rivers State House of Assembly has endorsed the constitutional amendment bill seeking to establish State Police Services in Nigeria.
The decision follows the transmission of the 1999 Constitution (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026 by the National Assembly to the 36 state Houses of Assembly for consideration and approval.
The proposed amendment would allow individual states to establish their own police services while retaining the Nigeria Police Force as the federal policing authority. The bill also provides for constitutional safeguards concerning the appointment and removal of state police commissioners.
Under the proposed framework, state commissioners of police would be appointed by governors on the recommendation of the National Police Council and subject to confirmation by the relevant State House of Assembly.
The National Assembly transmitted the State Police Bill to the state legislatures on September 16 after it was passed by the Senate and House of Representatives earlier this year. The bill requires approval by at least two-thirds of the state Houses of Assembly before the constitutional amendment process can proceed.
Rivers’ endorsement adds to the ongoing consideration of the proposal across the country, as state legislatures examine how a decentralised policing structure could operate within Nigeria’s constitutional framework.
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