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The Kano State House of Assembly has passed the bill seeking an amendment to the 1999 Constitution to pave the way for the establishment of state police, bringing to 33 the number of state legislatures that have passed the bill.
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The bill was passed during Tuesday’s plenary session presided over by the Speaker, Isma’il Falgore, following consideration by the Committee of the Whole and approval at the third reading.
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Kano’s passage of the bill leaves only three states yet to approve the proposed constitutional amendment.
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The development comes amid renewed calls for the decentralisation of policing as Nigeria continues to grapple with security challenges, including banditry, kidnapping, terrorism and communal violence.
October 28, (THEWILL) – The Kano State House of Assembly has passed the bill seeking an amendment to the 1999 Constitution to pave the way for the establishment of state police, bringing to 33 the number of state legislatures that have passed the bill.
The bill was passed during Tuesday’s plenary session presided over by the Speaker, Isma’il Falgore, following consideration by the Committee of the Whole and approval at the third reading.
Kano’s passage of the bill leaves only three states yet to approve the proposed constitutional amendment.
The proposed amendment is part of efforts to restructure the country’s security architecture by allowing state governments to establish their own police services alongside the Nigeria Police Force.
The 33 states that have passed the bill are Lagos, Ogun, Osun, Oyo, Ondo, Ekiti, Edo, Delta, Rivers, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Anambra, Enugu, Imo, Abia, Ebonyi, Kwara, Kogi, Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa, Adamawa, Taraba, Borno, Yobe, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi, Jigawa, Zamfara and Sokoto.
The passage of the bill across the six geopolitical zones advances the constitutional process for establishing state police.
Under the proposed arrangement, state police services would operate alongside the Nigeria Police Force, with their respective powers, responsibilities and jurisdictions defined by the amended Constitution and enabling legislation.
Proponents of decentralised policing have argued that state-controlled police services could improve intelligence gathering, strengthen community-level policing and reduce response times to security threats.
The proposal has also raised questions about funding, accountability, political interference and safeguards against the misuse of police powers.
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Constitutional Process For State Police
Section 9(2) of the 1999 Constitution requires a constitutional amendment to secure the support of at least two-thirds of the 36 State Houses of Assembly, in addition to the required approval by the National Assembly.
With 33 states having passed the bill, the proposal has surpassed the 24-state threshold required for the state legislature stage of the constitutional amendment process.
Kano Assembly Cuts Supplementary Budget By ₦266.61bn
In a separate decision, the Kano State House of Assembly approved a downward review of the state’s 2026 supplementary budget, reducing the proposed expenditure from ₦1,477,829,666,130.71 to approximately ₦1.211 trillion.
The reduction amounts to about ₦266.61 billion from the supplementary expenditure proposal submitted by Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf.
The Assembly approved the Kano State Supplementary Appropriation and Amendment Bill, 2026, during the same Tuesday plenary session.
The adjustment followed legislative consideration of the state’s supplementary spending requirements and proposed amendments to the 2026 appropriation framework.
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