The Alteration Bill according to ducument seeks to create a constitutional route for the establishment of State Police Services that will be subject to the Constitution and the Act of the National Assembly prescribing national minimum policing standards.
By Sam Ovie
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Published on September 28, 2026
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2 min read
In line with Section 9 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, which bothers on the mode of alteration of Nigeria’s Constitution, the Rivers State House of Assembly, on Monday, at the 54th Legislative Sitting resolved in the affirmative by approving the Sixth Alteration Bill, 2026 from the National Assembly, altering the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999. This followed the reading of a letter from the Clerk of the National Assembly by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Martin Chike Amaewhule.
The Alteration Bill according to ducument seeks to create a constitutional route for the establishment of State Police Services that will be subject to the Constitution and the Act of the National Assembly prescribing national minimum policing standards.
The Bill also seeks to preserve the Federal Police Service as the default police service in any State until a State Police Service Commission is lawfully established and certified operational.
Furthermore, among other clauses, the Bill leaves the detailed organisation, procedures, operational control, certification and implementation arrangements to subsequent Acts of the National Assembly, and where applicable, to the laws of the Houses of Assembly of States.
Commenting on the Bill before putting the Question, Rt. Hon. Amaewhule emphasized the importance of establishing a State policing system that will guarantee constitutional guardrails for civilian control, human rights, criminal information system and egregious abuse among others
When the Speaker put the question, Members voted unanimously in the affirmative, thereby approving the Bill in its entirety. With this approval, the Rivers State House of Assembly is now among the few State Houses of Assembly that have given their legislative imprematur to the 1999 Constitution – Sixth Alteration Bill, 2026.
