By, Olawale Ogunbusola

The proposed constitutional amendment to establish a dual policing system in Nigeria has secured approval from 24 State Houses of Assembly, meeting the two-thirds threshold required for constitutional alteration.

The Chief of Staff to the President and Chairman of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, Femi Gbajabiamila, disclosed this in a statement on Friday, October 23, 2026.

The statement said the approval of 24 of the 36 state assemblies met the constitutional requirement for the Constitution (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026, which provides for a dual policing system.

The Working Group commended the state assemblies for their action and the National Assembly for passing the amendment in both chambers.

“In line with Section 9 of the Constitution, the amendment can now be returned to the National Assembly for transmission to Mr President for assent,” the statement read.

The proposed amendment is expected to provide constitutional backing for the policing framework contained in the draft National Policing Bill, 2026, prepared by the Presidential Working Group.

OCTOBER 30 TIMELINE

The group said the draft bills were undergoing legislative drafting review and validation at the Federal Ministry of Justice and were expected to be returned on or before Friday, October 30, 2026.

It added that the group would give the bills final consideration before presenting them to President Bola Tinubu.

The Working Group urged stakeholders to support what it described as a smooth transition to a dual policing system aimed at making Nigerians safer.

PUNCH had reported in September that the National Assembly transmitted the Constitution (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026, to the 36 state Houses of Assembly on September 16 for consideration and approval, giving them an expected administrative timeframe of 30 days to communicate their decisions.

The proposed amendment seeks to establish a dual policing system comprising the Federal Police Service and state police services.
On October 9, the Senate was confident the amendment would secure the required backing, with Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs Chairman Yemi Adaramodu saying at the time that four states — Edo, Oyo, Osun and Rivers — had approved the bill.

However, in a report published on October 16, PUNCH said five state assemblies — Edo, Osun, Oyo, Rivers and Zamfara — had approved the amendment, while the remaining 31 were yet to do so.

Meanwhile, PUNCH reported on October 15 that the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, had said the draft National Policing Bill was 90 per cent ready for transmission to the National Assembly after further deliberations by the Presidential Working Group.

On October 21, PUNCH reported that five additional state assemblies — Ogun, Delta, Plateau, Kwara and Adamawa — had approved the amendment, bringing the number of approving states to 10.