Nigeria's proposed state police has cleared the constitutional bar, with 24 state houses of assembly having approved the required amendment, according to Channels Television. The outlet reported the development on Friday, 23 October 2026, attributing the announcement to Gbajabiamila.
Under the reported count, the approval of 24 assemblies meets the number of states needed for the amendment to proceed. Channels Television did not, in the material available, name the individual states involved or set out further procedural steps.
The figure reflects a series of separate legislative decisions across the country. Punch Newspapers reported that the Kaduna State Assembly approved the constitutional amendment for state police, while Premium Times Nigeria reported that the Akwa Ibom Assembly adopted recommendations to establish state police. The Guardian Nigeria News reported that Ekiti, Anambra, Benue and two other states passed the State Police Bill. Vanguard News also published a full list of the 24 states that approved the bill.
The approvals point to widening support among state legislatures for moving policing partly to the state level, a shift from the current arrangement. The reports summarised here do not detail the amendment's terms, the powers proposed for state forces, or how they would relate to existing federal policing.
What to watch next: whether the approved amendment is formally transmitted for the remaining stages, and how the 24-state list is confirmed officially.
