The Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, on Monday formally launched the implementation phase of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, declaring that the Federal Government is preparing a comprehensive legal framework for a dual federal and state policing system ahead of the final constitutional approval for state police.
Speaking at the State House Press Centre in Abuja after convening the inaugural meeting of the Presidential Working Group, Gbajabiamila said the reform was designed to create a policing architecture that would bring security closer to communities while preserving national standards, national security and the constitutional rights of Nigerians.
He explained that although the National Assembly had made significant progress on the constitutional amendment establishing state police—with the Senate approving the proposal on June 24, 2026, and the House of Representatives passing the Executive State Police Bill on July 23, 2026—the amendment would not become operational until it secured the required approval of state Houses of Assembly and the necessary implementing laws were enacted.
Gbajabiamila stressed that the Nigeria Police Force remained the country’s only constitutionally recognised police institution, warning against the misconception that the constitutional amendment alone was sufficient to establish state police services.
According to him, the National Policing Bill is intended to address critical operational issues that the constitutional amendment does not cover, including recruitment, training, funding, command structure, jurisdiction, firearms regulation, pensions, data management, complaints mechanisms, transition arrangements and cooperation between federal and state policing institutions.
He said President Bola Tinubu constituted the Presidential Working Group to ensure the country was fully prepared once the constitutional process was completed, adding that the group’s mandate was to produce an implementation-ready draft National Policing Bill alongside supporting legislative instruments.
“The constitutional amendment creates the authority and broad architecture for federal and state policing. However, it does not, by itself, provide the complete operating system,” Gbajabiamila said.
The Chief of Staff disclosed that the assignment also includes a comprehensive audit of the Police Act 2020, Police Service Commission framework and other laws affected by the reform, with recommendations expected on national policing standards, state readiness certification, human rights safeguards, independent complaints institutions, criminal intelligence systems, funding arrangements and the treatment of existing security outfits.
He said the Working Group comprises representatives of the Presidency, the Federal Ministry of Justice, the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and the Nigerian Bar Association, while its secretariat would oversee research, legal drafting, policy analysis and stakeholder consultations.
Gbajabiamila also announced that President Tinubu had approved a multidisciplinary Policy Advisory Committee chaired by retired Justice Mohammed Abdullahi Liman. The committee includes members drawn from the judiciary, academia, security agencies, the National Assembly, the Nigerian Bar Association, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, state Attorneys-General, public policy experts and technology specialists.
According to him, the committee will provide technical oversight, review successive drafts of the bill, validate implementation proposals and ensure that the reform process maintains public confidence through independent scrutiny.
He revealed that the implementation programme would run for seven weeks, from July 27 to September 14, 2026, with the Executive Bill package expected to be submitted to President Tinubu on September 3. Subject to presidential approval, a nationwide public consultation will follow before the legislation is transmitted to the National Assembly.
Gbajabiamila said the final package would include not only the proposed legislation but also explanatory memoranda, legal audit reports, implementation plans, fiscal notes, readiness frameworks, risk assessments and other supporting documents required for effective implementation.
He maintained that while the government supports stronger local policing, safeguards against abuse remain central to the reform.
“State Police cannot mean thirty-six state militias, just as national standards cannot become a disguised method of re-centralising day-to-day state policing,” he said, adding that no political office holder should be able to use state police to persecute opponents or suppress lawful political activities.
He further stated that no state police service would commence operations without demonstrating adequate capacity in recruitment, training, welfare, discipline, independent oversight, firearms control, data management and financial sustainability.
Gbajabiamila announced an open call for memoranda, position papers and practical proposals from Nigerians, professional bodies, civil society organisations, security institutions and stakeholders both within and outside the country to strengthen the proposed legislation.
He acknowledged public concerns over possible political abuse, uneven state capacity, funding challenges and ethnic or sectional capture of state police institutions, but insisted that these concerns underscored the need for a comprehensive National Policing Bill rather than a hurried implementation of the constitutional amendment.
While noting that the reform alone would not solve all of Nigeria’s security challenges, Gbajabiamila expressed confidence that the proposed dual policing framework would create a stronger Federal Police Service for national security and inter-state responsibilities alongside capable State Police Services for local security needs, all operating under common national standards.
He urged Nigerians to actively participate in the consultation process, describing the reform as a historic opportunity to build a policing system that is more responsive, accountable and suited to the country’s diverse security realities. Authority.
