State Police: Nasarawa Becomes Sixth Assembly To Approve Constitution Amendment

The Nasarawa State House of Assembly has endorsed the proposed constitutional amendment to create a state police, bringing the number of state legislatures that have backed the bill to six.

Naija News reports that Lawmakers approved it on Tuesday during plenary in Lafia, presided over by the Speaker, Dr Danladi Jatau.

Jatau read out the 26 clauses of the Constitution (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026, sent by the National Assembly, and put each of them to a voice vote.

Members of the House unanimously voted for all the clauses, after which the Speaker ruled that the ayes had it.

The proposed alterations touch on several sections of the 1999 Constitution, including Sections 84, 89, 121, 124, 129, 153, 157, 158, 160, 197, 201, 202 and 204.

The bill also seeks to substitute Sections 214, 215 and 216, insert a new Section 317A, amend Section 318, and alter the Second and Third Schedules to provide for federal and state police service commissions.

Other proposed changes include amendments to the Fifth Schedule and references to the Constitution.

Commending his colleagues for their unanimous support, Jatau directed the Clerk of the House to forward the Assembly’s resolution to the National Assembly.

He noted that the endorsement would add to the number of state Assemblies needed to approve the bill before it can proceed to the next stage.

On September 16, 2026, the National Assembly transmitted the bill to the 36 state Houses of Assembly for their concurrence on establishing state police alongside the federal force.

The Nasarawa Assembly received the document from the Clerk of the National Assembly on September 18 and set it for consideration when members resumed on September 28.

Under Section 9(2) of the Constitution, any amendment must be approved by at least two-thirds of the state Houses of Assembly, which is 24 of the 36 states.

Apart from Nasarawa, other states that have endorsed the bill are Edo, Osun, Oyo, Rivers and Zamfara. This means 18 more state Assemblies must approve the proposal to meet the constitutional requirement.