The Rivers State House of Assembly has endorsed the Constitution (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026, seeking to establish a constitutional framework for State Police Services in Nigeria.
All 25 members of the Assembly voted in favour of the proposed amendment during plenary on Monday, September 28, following consultations with their constituents.
The Speaker, Martins Amaewhule, commended the lawmakers for consulting their constituents before taking a position on the bill.
He said Nigerians had over time called for a policing system at the subnational level to complement the Nigeria Police Force.
“We are already aware that over time, Nigerians have been clamouring for an opportunity to have a policing system at the subnational level to complement the federal police.
“By this voting, the 10th Assembly is fully in support of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (Sixth Alteration) Bill 2026,” Amaewhule said.
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The Speaker said the lawmakers supported efforts aimed at strengthening the security of lives and property across the country, describing the proposed state police system as a means of complementing federal policing.
“For us, having police at the subnational level helping the federal police is indeed a welcomed development,” he added.
Amaewhule said the proposed amendment would provide a constitutional pathway for the establishment of State Police Services, subject to the provisions of the Constitution.
He added that the amendment would enable the National Assembly to prescribe national minimum policing standards.
According to him, the bill contains 26 clauses, including 25 proposed alterations involving substitutions to provisions of the existing Constitution. Among the sections listed for alteration are Sections 84(4), 89(2), 121(3), 124(4), 109(2), 153(1), 157(2), 158(1) and 160.
The National Assembly had transmitted the State Police Services constitutional amendment bill to the 36 state Houses of Assembly for consideration and approval.
The National Assembly subsequently clarified that the State Police Services Bill was the only constitutional alteration proposal transmitted to the state legislatures at that stage.
Rivers has now joined other state legislatures, including Osun and Edo, in considering the proposed constitutional framework for state policing.
