The battle for state police has taken a dramatic turn in Ibadan as the Oyo State House of Assembly yesterday passed the constitution amendment bill establishing State Police Services.
Presided over by Speaker Rt. Hon. Adebo Ogundoyin, the House dissolved into Committee of the Whole, dissected the bill clause-by-clause, and passed it for third reading during Tuesday plenary.
With the vote, Oyo becomes one of the first states to approve the bill and will now transmit its resolution to the National Assembly in Abuja.
Two-Thirds Hurdle Ahead
The bill is part of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026, transmitted by the National Assembly to all 36 state legislatures for consideration.
The proposed law seeks to create a constitutional framework for states to establish, fund and control their own police services to tackle local insecurity.
ALSO READ: State police: State Assemblies pledge support for bill
The National Assembly had directed state assemblies to deliberate according to their legislative procedures and communicate their resolutions back.
Under Section 9 of the Constitution, the amendment requires approval by at least two-thirds — 24 of 36 state Houses of Assembly — before it can become law.
With rising kidnapping, banditry and farmer-herder killings, pressure for state police has reached fever pitch.
Oyo’s bold approval is now a challenge to other states — will they follow Ibadan’s lead or chicken out?
