The Cross River State House of Assembly has commenced consideration of a proposed constitutional amendment seeking to establish State Police Services across Nigeria’s 36 states.
The bill, transmitted by the National Assembly, is titled “A Bill for an Act to Amend the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to Provide for the Establishment of State Police Services and for Related Matters in the 36 States of the Federation.”
The proposed amendment seeks to create a constitutional framework for state-controlled police services while retaining the Nigeria Police Force as the Federal Police Service. The National Assembly also forwarded the relevant votes and proceedings of both chambers, alongside other documents relating to the proposed constitutional alteration.
During plenary, the Cross River Assembly passed a motion for the correspondence to be received and laid on the table. Members subsequently approved the bill as a working document and subjected it to First Reading, formally commencing its legislative consideration.
Speaker Elvert Ayambem stated that the proposal would follow the normal legislative process, including detailed consideration and debate, before the Assembly takes a position.
The bill forms part of the National Assembly’s ongoing constitutional review process on the proposed establishment of State Police Services in Nigeria.
