Abuja — President Bola Tinubu has taken a decisive step toward realizing state police in Nigeria, inaugurating a high-powered Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill to develop the legal framework for the new security architecture.
The President, represented by his Chief of Staff, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, formally inaugurated the committee on Tuesday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. The move comes shortly after the National Assembly passed the Constitution Alteration (State Police) Bill, 2026, which paves the way for a dual policing system comprising the Federal Police Service and State Police Services across Nigeria’s 36 states.
According to a statement by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the National Policing Bill is crucial for operationalizing the constitutional amendment. While the amendment provides the broad framework for state policing, the new legislation will establish detailed operational guidelines.
“The Constitution Amendment Bill establishes the framework for dual policing, but it does not operationalise it. That work is left to the National Policing Bill,” the President emphasized.
The bill is expected to cover critical areas including minimum policing standards, state readiness certification, federal-state coordination mechanisms, accountability structures, human rights safeguards, and fiscal arrangements.
President Tinubu directed the committee to produce a “technically robust, implementation-ready draft National Policing Bill” for immediate transmission to the National Assembly once the constitutional process is completed. He stressed the need to begin preparatory work immediately rather than waiting for the amendment ratification to conclude.
The Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, will chair the committee. Other key members include the Attorney-General of the Federation, the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), the National Security Adviser, the Inspector-General of Police, and the Chairman of the NGF Committee on State Police.
Ogun State Governor Prince Dapo Abiodun, who chairs the NGF Committee on State Police, assured the federal government of the governors’ full cooperation. He described the initiative as a direct response to Nigerians’ long-standing demand for community-based policing.
Abiodun highlighted the success of regional security networks such as Amotekun in the Southwest and projected that state police would add nearly 200,000 officers to the nation’s security architecture if each state deploys an average of 6,000 personnel.
Attorney-General of the Federation, Chief Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), described the timing as critical given Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges, urging state assemblies to speedily ratify the constitutional amendment.
NBA President, Mazi Afam Osigwe (SAN), expressed strong support for state police but cautioned against potential abuse. “We must ensure we do not create a monster,” he said, stressing the importance of robust legal safeguards for accountability and citizens’ rights.
The inauguration was attended by several state Attorneys-General, senior security officials, and other government functionaries.
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