Nasarawa Assembly Approves State Police Bill

The Nasarawa State House of Assembly has approved the proposed creation of state police, bringing to six the number of state legislatures that have endorsed the constitutional amendment.

The approval was given on Tuesday during plenary in Lafia, presided over by the Speaker, Dr Danladi Jatau.

Jatau read the 26 clauses of the Constitution (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026, transmitted by the National Assembly, before putting each clause to a voice vote.

Lawmakers unanimously voted in favour of all the clauses, after which the Speaker declared that the ayes had it.

The proposed amendments cover several provisions of the 1999 Constitution, including Sections 84, 89, 121, 124, 129, 153, 157, 158, 160, 197, 201, 202 and 204.

Other provisions include the substitution of Sections 214, 215 and 216, the insertion of a new Section 317A, amendments to Section 318 and changes to the Second and Third Schedules to provide for federal and state police service commissions.

The bill also proposes amendments to the Fifth Schedule and the citation of the Constitution.

Speaking after the vote, Jatau commended lawmakers for their unanimous support and directed the Clerk of the House to transmit the Assembly’s resolution to the National Assembly.

He said the approval would contribute to the number of state legislatures required to endorse the bill before further legislative action could be taken.

The National Assembly transmitted the proposed constitutional amendment to the 36 state Houses of Assembly on September 16, 2026, seeking their concurrence on the establishment of state police alongside the federal police.

The Nasarawa Assembly had received the bill from the Clerk of the National Assembly on September 18, with consideration scheduled to begin when lawmakers resumed on September 28.

Under Section 9(2) of the 1999 Constitution, a constitutional amendment requires approval by at least two-thirds of the state Houses of Assembly, representing 24 of the 36 states.

With Nasarawa’s approval, six states have now endorsed the proposal. The others are Edo, Osun, Oyo, Rivers and Zamfara.

A further 18 state assemblies must approve the bill to meet the constitutional threshold for the proposed amendment.