The Rivers State House of Assembly has unanimously approved the proposed constitutional amendment seeking to establish state police services in Nigeria.
Rivers joins Osun and Edo as the latest state legislatures to publicly back the proposed amendment, which must be approved by at least 24 of Nigeria’s 36 state Houses of Assembly before it can proceed to the President for assent.
The National Assembly transmitted the State Police Services Bill to the 36 state Houses of Assembly on 16 September 2026 as part of the constitutional alteration process.
The bill is the only constitutional amendment proposal so far transmitted to the state legislatures for consideration, according to a clarification by the National Assembly.
The Rivers Assembly considered the bill during plenary on Monday under the leadership of Speaker Martins Amaewhule.
Before the vote, Amaewhule drew lawmakers’ attention to Section 9 of the 1999 Constitution, which sets out the procedure for constitutional amendments.
He explained that the proposed alteration requires support from two-thirds of the members of each chamber of the National Assembly and approval by resolutions of at least two-thirds of the state Houses of Assembly.
The Speaker said lawmakers were required to vote on whether they accepted or rejected the proposed alteration.
Following the reading of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026, all 25 lawmakers present voted in favour of the proposal. No member voted against it and there was no abstention.
Announcing the result, Amaewhule said the Rivers Assembly was fully in support of the bill.
He said the proposed amendment would provide a constitutional pathway for the establishment of State Police Services while retaining the Federal Police Service as the default police service in a state until a state police service was lawfully established and certified as operational.
The proposed framework also provides for national minimum policing standards and safeguards relating to civilian control, human rights, police oversight, firearms control, intergovernmental cooperation and exceptional federal intervention in specified circumstances.
According to the bill, detailed provisions on the organisation, procedures, operational control, certification, complaints mechanisms, funding and implementation of state police would be provided through subsequent legislation by the National Assembly and, where applicable, state Houses of Assembly.
Amaewhule said the establishment of police services at the sub-national level would complement the Federal Police and improve security across the country.
The Speaker also said the Assembly supported efforts by President Bola Tinubu and the Federal Executive Council to strengthen the protection of lives and property.
The state police proposal is part of a wider constitutional alteration process. The National Assembly has set a 30-day administrative timeframe for state legislatures to consider the bill, although the constitutional requirement remains that at least 24 state Houses of Assembly must approve it before the process can move to the next stage.
