Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, has said that under the proposed constitutional amendment, a state’s Commissioner of Police would not be appointed solely by the governor but through a process involving the National Police Council and the State House of Assembly.
Abbas made the clarification on Wednesday at the National Security Roundtable held as part of the 2026 National Assembly Open Week at the National Assembly Library Trust Fund, Abuja.
He said, “A state appoints its Commissioner of Police on the recommendation of the National Police Council. The State Assembly must confirm that appointment, and only a two-thirds majority of the Assembly can remove the officer, and even then, only for good cause.”
He added that the bill also provides constitutional mechanisms for federal intervention if a state police service becomes compromised or ceases to function within the law.
“If a State Police breaks down, or falls into the wrong hands, or turns against the very people it should protect, the Constitution allows the Federal Police to step in. But it allows this only in defined situations, only in writing, only for a limited period, with notice to the Governor and to the National Assembly within forty-eight hours, and always subject to the courts”.
Continuing, the speaker said, “I understand the concern that many people bring to this discussion, and it is a reasonable one. It is the fear that a State Police could become the private army of a governor or a political godfather,” the Speaker said.
“The people who drafted this Bill had the same fear, and they answered it.”
“No such step may dissolve a state police or suspend a state’s elected institutions. These are the safeguards that will keep the reform honest.”
The speaker said the National Security Roundtable was convened to examine one of the country’s most significant constitutional questions.
“We have come together for one purpose, which is to think carefully and in good faith about how Nigeria should be policed in the years ahead. This is one of the most important questions our country has ever faced, and it is right that it should be settled by this Parliament and by the citizens we serve.
“For the first time in our history, a sitting president has made State Police a central part of national reform. He has done so not with words alone, but with a Bill that now sits before the House of Representatives.”
Abbas commended President Bola Tinubu for transmitting the Executive Bill to the National Assembly, saying previous leaders had discussed state policing for decades without taking concrete action.
“Let me begin with a word of appreciation, because it is deserved. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, has done what many leaders talked about for thirty years, but few dared to attempt. He has sent this Parliament an Executive Bill to amend the Constitution and to allow for State Police Services.
“It takes conviction to bring the most sensitive question in our federation before the whole country, and it takes humility to place that question in the hands of the legislature and the people. For that, this House thanks him.”
He also paid tribute to the Armed Forces, the Police and other security agencies.
“I also thank the men and women who keep us safe while we debate: our Armed Forces, our Police and other security and intelligence services. Many of them have lost their lives doing this work. We owe them our gratitude, and we owe them a system that serves them better than the one they have now.”
The speaker argued that Nigeria’s present policing structure could no longer adequately respond to evolving security threats across the country.
“The argument for a state police is simple. A country as large and as varied as ours cannot be policed forever by one central Force run from the capital. More than two hundred million people live across our forests, our farmlands, and our borders, and a single Force cannot know every community or watch every road,” he said.
He said banditry, kidnapping, farmer-herder clashes and attacks on schools require locally driven policing.
Abbas said, “Banditry has threatened families and farmers. Kidnappers have plagued our highways. Disputes between farmers and herders have resulted in deadly clashes. Fear has overtaken our schools.
“These are local problems, and they need local knowledge, local presence, and local accountability. Policing works best when the people who protect a community actually belong to it, and that is the confidence this reform is meant to rebuild.”
Explaining the contents of the Executive Bill, Abbas said much of the public debate had been fuelled by speculation rather than the actual provisions of the legislation.
“Let me explain what the bill actually provides, because there has been a great deal of speculation about it.”
According to him, the bill would rename the Nigeria Police Force as the Federal Police Service while permitting states to establish their own police services if they choose.
“The bill renames the Nigeria Police Force as the Federal Police Service. It then allows any State that wishes to do so to set up its own State Police Service.”
However, he stressed that a state police service could only commence operations after meeting constitutional requirements.
“But it does this carefully. A State Police cannot begin to operate until the State House of Assembly creates it by law, and until it meets the national minimum standards that the National Assembly will set. Until that time, the Federal Police continues to serve that State,” he said.
He explained that the Federal Police would retain responsibility for federal crimes, terrorism, border security and policing the Federal Capital Territory, while state police would focus on maintaining law and order within their states.
“The bill also separates responsibilities clearly. The Federal Police will handle federal crimes, terrorism, our borders, and the Federal Capital, while the State Police will handle ordinary law and order within the State,” he said.
He added that each state police service would be overseen by an independent commission with direct funding and strict limits on police powers.
“And it builds in safeguards. Each force will be governed by an independent State Police Service Commission, and its funds will reach it directly.
“The Bill places strict limits on the use of firearms. And it forbids any officer from arresting, detaining, or using force for political, ethnic, religious, or personal reasons,” the Speaker said.
