The Clerk to the National Assembly said 28 state assemblies approved the measure and that the reports and voting records were verified; Voice of Nigeria reproduced that statement. Reuters independently reported the 28 approvals and the 24-state threshold. BusinessDay explains that earlier public claims put the number as high as 30, while the Clerk’s consolidated verified count is 28. Section 9 of the Constitution sets the state-ratification threshold. The Clerk’s statement says the bill is being prepared for transmission to the president for assent, while the National Assembly’s own online constitutional-amendment guide says presidential assent is not required and state ratification is final before gazette publication. The public accounts therefore differ on the remaining formal step; this article does not claim the bill is already in force. The photo search found event and police images offered through licensing pages, and no reusable licence for a current event image. These are archive context photographs: the National Assembly building was photographed in Abuja in 2019; the inline photograph shows police at Lagos’s Eyo festival in 2016 and does not depict the amendment process. Both files are CC BY-SA 4.0; the building image was resized proportionally to 1,800 × 1,200 and re-encoded, without cropping or content edits. The inline 1,000 × 710 photograph was re-encoded without crop or content changes. Credits, source links and licence links accompany both.
The verified count is 28, above the 24-state mark
The Clerk to Nigeria’s National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana, said on Tuesday that 28 of the country’s 36 state Houses of Assembly had approved the Constitution (Sixth Alteration) Bill, which would provide for State Police Services. His office said it verified the reports and the accompanying voting records.
Section 9 of the 1999 Constitution sets a two-thirds approval threshold among state legislatures for an amendment of this kind: 24 of 36. The National Assembly had previously received higher public estimates, BusinessDay reported, but the Clerk’s consolidated figure is 28. That clears the stated state-level threshold; it is not an announcement that state police are already operating.
A change to a federal policing system
Nigeria currently relies on a single federal police force. If the amendment takes effect, states would gain a constitutional basis to establish their own police services, a significant shift in how law enforcement is organized across the federation.
Supporters say local forces could respond more directly to local security problems. The proposal also raises practical questions about funding, command, accountability and safeguards against political misuse—questions that approval figures alone do not answer.
The next formal step is not clearly described
The Clerk’s statement, carried by Voice of Nigeria, says administrative work is underway to transmit the bill to President Bola Tinubu for assent. The National Assembly’s own online guide to constitutional alteration says presidential assent is not required after state ratification and describes publication in the Gazette as the final step.
Those official descriptions do not align. Reuters reported the amendment as moving closer to becoming law, but as of Tuesday the legislature had announced the verified state approvals, not the start of state-level police operations. The outstanding legal procedure and any implementation timetable should be stated only when the Assembly clarifies them.
Sources
7 references
- Federal Ministry of Justice, NigeriaConstitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 — Section 9Official text of Section 9: a constitutional alteration requires the prescribed supermajorities in both National Assembly chambers and approval by resolutions of at least two-thirds of state assemblies. · 2020-09-03
- National Assembly of NigeriaConstitution alteration procedure — 10th AssemblyThe Assembly’s public guide says 24 of 36 states is the ratification threshold and that presidential assent is not required; its description of the final procedure differs from the Clerk’s statement. · 2026-11-03
- Voice of NigeriaState Police Bill Secures Approval Of 28 AssembliesGovernment broadcaster’s report of Clerk Kamoru Ogunlana’s statement that 28 state houses approved the bill and that approvals and voting records were verified; says administrative steps are underway for transmission to President Bola Tinubu for assent. · 2026-11-03
- ReutersNigeria state police bill clears constitutional hurdle after 28 states approveIndependent report on the 28 approvals, the 24-state threshold and the potential shift from a federal police force to state-controlled forces. · 2026-11-03
- BusinessDayNational Assembly confirms 28 states’ approval of State Police BillIndependent Nigerian business newspaper reports the Clerk’s verified figure and documents earlier public claims of 24 and about 30 approvals. · 2026-11-03
- Wikimedia Commons — image source and licenseThe National Assembly.jpg by Ovinuchi Prince Ejiohuo — CC BY-SA 4.0Archive photograph of the National Assembly complex in Abuja; the creator’s file page grants CC BY-SA 4.0. · 2019-03-26
- Wikimedia Commons — image source and licenseNigerian police.jpg by Olasunkanmiariyo — CC BY-SA 4.0Archive photograph of police at the Eyo festival in Lagos; the creator’s file page grants CC BY-SA 4.0. · 2016-05-14
