Ogun Assembly backs establishment of state police

The Ogun State House of Assembly approved a resolution supporting the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026. The bill proposes creating state police services. The Assembly approved the committee's proposed amendments after voting in favour of all 26 clauses and sections considered.

The resolution followed a report from the House Ad-hoc Committee on Constitutional Review, chaired by former Speaker Olakunle Oluomo. Oluomo moved for the report's adoption, and lawmakers supported it by voice vote. The House Leader then moved for its adoption as an Assembly resolution, which members unanimously supported.

Speaker Oludaisi Elemide directed that a clean copy be prepared and sent to the National Assembly. This transmission formally communicates Ogun State's support. The resolution is part of a wider constitutional amendment process, so it supports the proposal but does not itself establish state police.

A state police service is a policing body created and managed at state level. Its officers would primarily serve one state, rather than operating as part of a single national police structure. The article presents state police as a way to strengthen Nigeria's security architecture and protect local communities.

Nigeria's existing police system is federally organised. A state service would add a regional layer, allowing state authorities to direct policing priorities within their territory. In practical terms, that could mean greater attention to local security conditions and closer links between policing and state-level needs. The article does not specify recruitment, funding, command, or oversight arrangements.

The proposed change remains a constitutional proposal, not an operating system already in place. Ogun's resolution supports the bill that would create the legal framework. If the amendment becomes law, detailed legislation and rules would still determine how state services differ from, and work alongside, the federal police.

Nigeria's Constitution provides the country's basic legal framework, including how public institutions and powers are arranged. Establishing state police would create a new policing level and change the distribution of security authority. Because that would affect constitutional arrangements, a constitutional amendment is required rather than an ordinary state resolution alone.

Ogun's Ad-hoc Committee on Constitutional Review considered a bill containing substitutions, insertions, and alterations to specific constitutional provisions. Lawmakers voted for all 26 clauses and sections presented in the committee's report. These changes are intended to provide the legal framework for state police services.

The Ogun Assembly has therefore expressed support, but it has not itself amended the Constitution. Its resolution forms part of the ongoing amendment process. The National Assembly must receive and consider the proposal through the constitutional procedure before the proposed policing structure can become law. The article does not state the final outcome or timetable.

State legislatures provide the state-level voice in the amendment process. They consider the proposed constitutional changes, debate or review them, and pass resolutions showing whether their states support the proposal. In Ogun, the Ad-hoc Committee presented its report, lawmakers approved every clause considered, and the Assembly adopted the report as its resolution.

The National Assembly is the federal institution that receives and considers the proposed constitutional amendment. Ogun's Speaker directed officials to prepare a clean copy and transmit it there. The amendment bill seeks to substitute, insert, or alter constitutional provisions so state police services have a legal foundation.

This process means Ogun's vote is not the final decision. The resolution communicates the state's position and joins support from other state legislatures. The National Assembly must continue the constitutional procedure, and the proposal would need to complete that process before state police services could legally be established. The article does not give a final vote date.

Nigeria has 36 states, so a constitutional amendment authorising state police could potentially allow up to 36 state police services. Each service would correspond to an individual state. This is a numerical possibility, not a statement that all states would necessarily establish one.

The article reports that Ogun has joined other state legislatures in supporting the proposal. It describes the amendment as a framework for establishing state police services, but it does not list the supporting states or say how many have approved it. It also does not explain whether states would be required to create services or merely permitted to do so.

The current position is therefore limited. Ogun has passed a supporting resolution, while the amendment remains under consideration. If the constitutional change becomes law, each state could assess whether and how to create a service under the eventual legal framework. The National Assembly's process and any later legislation would shape the final arrangement.

The proposed state police model could change policing by adding a state-level service alongside the existing federal structure. Its main intended benefit is closer attention to security conditions within individual states. The Ogun Speaker said the plan could strengthen Nigeria's security architecture and improve protection for communities.

For example, a state police service could let state authorities organise policing around local concerns and direct resources toward particular communities. That closer focus is the key possible mechanism. The article does not provide operational details, such as command structures, funding, recruitment, or how state officers would coordinate with federal police.

Ogun lawmakers linked the proposal to addressing security challenges, protecting lives and property, and promoting social well-being and economic development. Those outcomes are expected goals, not confirmed results. The amendment is still being considered. Its actual effects would depend on the final constitutional text and the rules created for implementation.

In a federal system, government power is shared between a national authority and regional units. Dividing policing powers can let the national government handle countrywide security while regional governments respond to local conditions. The aim is to combine broad coordination with policing that understands individual communities.

A state police service would represent the regional side of that arrangement. It could give a state more responsibility for organising security within its territory, while the federal police would remain a national institution. The key mechanism is shared authority: different levels of government would have defined policing roles rather than one level controlling every function.

The article connects the proposal to strengthening Nigeria's security architecture, improving protection, and addressing security challenges. It does not discuss federalism directly or explain possible risks and safeguards. Those broader reasons are established features of federal systems, while the article's stated position is that state police could support communities and the state's development.