Ondo lawmakers approved a constitutional change to allow state police on Monday, adding another endorsement after Nigeria’s required state-assembly approval threshold for the measure had been reached.
The Ondo State House of Assembly passed the bill at its second and third readings during a plenary session on Oct. 26. Every lawmaker attending voted in favor, Punch and The Guardian reported. Speaker Olamide Oladiji directed the House clerk to send the resolution and the Assembly’s observations to the National Assembly.
The Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill said 24 of Nigeria’s 36 state assemblies had approved the amendment by Oct. 23, meeting the two-thirds state-assembly requirement in Section 9 of the Constitution. The state-assembly threshold had been reached before Ondo’s vote. Premium Times reported that the tally rose to 25 after the vote; that figure is the outlet’s reported count.
Section 9 also requires support from at least two-thirds of the members of each National Assembly chamber. The working group said the bill had passed in both chambers before state assemblies considered it.
Oladiji argued that state police could help curb crime, Punch reported. Punch and Premium Times also reported proponents’ expectation that local forces could improve intelligence gathering and responses to security needs. The Associated Press reported that critics worry governors could use state police to target political rivals.
Separately, the State House said a draft National Policing Bill, 2026, intended to implement a dual-policing system, was under legislative drafting review at the Federal Ministry of Justice. The ministry was expected to return the draft by Oct. 30.
