Thirteen of Nigeria's 36 state houses of assembly have now approved the bill to create state police forces, after lawmakers in Kwara, Taraba, Nasarawa, Ogun, Delta, Cross River, Plateau and Enugu unanimously backed the measure, according to a report by Guardian Nigeria. The latest round of approvals builds on five state assemblies that had already passed the bill earlier, pushing the total to 13 as the push for a constitutional amendment continues.
Under Section 9(2) of Nigeria's 1999 Constitution, an amendment of this kind needs the backing of at least two-thirds of all state houses of assembly, meaning 24 of the 36 states must approve it before it can proceed to the president's desk for signature. That leaves the effort roughly halfway to the threshold it needs to clear, with 23 state assemblies yet to take a position.
Separately, the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill has completed drafting the proposed legislation and submitted it, along with 29 consequential amendment bills, to the Federal Ministry of Justice for review and validation. The parallel tracks, state-level ratification of the constitutional amendment and federal drafting of the policing framework itself, are both moving forward as Nigeria works toward decentralizing policing beyond the current federal-only structure.