Constitutional Amendment: Ondo Assembly passes state police bill

The Ondo State House of Assembly on Monday unanimously voted in support of the State Police after considering the constitutional amendment bill transmitted to it by the National Assembly.

The House backed the bill after an extensive deliberation in plenary, presided over by the Speaker, Olamide Oladiji.

While presenting the bill’s recommendations, the Leader of the House, Olatunji Oshati, explained that state policing system is expected to improve security operations through a decentralised approach that allows law enforcement to respond more effectively to grassroots security threats.

In his remarks, Mr Oladiji expressed optimism that the initiative would ease the operational pressure on the existing federal police structure by providing an additional layer of security and improving coordination in responding to threats.

According to him, beyond tackling crime, state policing is expected to strengthen intelligence -led policing by enabling security personnel to develop closer relationships with traditional rulers, community leaders, traders, farmers, and other stakeholders.

After the passage of the bill, the Speaker directed the Clerk of the Assembly to transmit it to the National Assembly alongside the observations made by the House.

Twenty-five states have so far approved the Constitution (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026, which provides for the establishment of state police services, satisfying the two-thirds majority requirement for its enactment as contained in Section 9 of the Nigerian Constitution.

The states are Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Benue, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Kaduna, Kebbi and Kwara.

Others are Nasarawa, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara.