President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has inaugurated the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill to develop the legal framework for the implementation of state police across Nigeria.
Represented by his Chief of Staff, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, at the inauguration ceremony held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Tuesday, the President said the move followed the passage of the Constitution Alteration (State Police) Bill, 2026, by the National Assembly.
According to Tinubu, while the constitutional amendment establishes a dual policing structure comprising the Federal Police Service and 36 State Police Services, the proposed National Policing Bill will provide the operational and legal framework for its implementation.
“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 said.
He explained that the legislation would address critical issues, including minimum policing standards, state readiness certification, federal-state coordination, accountability mechanisms, human rights safeguards and fiscal conditions necessary for the smooth operation of state police.
Tinubu said the committee was constituted to produce an implementation-ready draft bill for transmission to the National Assembly and stressed the need to commence the process immediately rather than wait for the constitutional amendment process to be concluded.
Gbajabiamila will chair the committee, which includes 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.
Speaking on behalf of the governors, Dapo Abiodun pledged the support of state governments for the speedy implementation of the reform. He said governors would work to ensure swift passage of the bill by their respective state assemblies once it is transmitted.
Abiodun described state police as a response to Nigerians’ long-standing demand for community-based policing and said the initiative would build on the successes of regional security outfits such as Amotekun.
He added that if each state recruits about 6,000 officers, nearly 200,000 additional security personnel would be deployed to complement the existing federal police structure.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, described the initiative as timely given Nigeria’s security challenges and urged governors to ensure the speedy ratification of the constitutional amendment.
President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Afam Osigwe, also expressed support for state police, noting that Nigeria could no longer be effectively policed by a single national force.
However, he cautioned against potential abuse, stressing the need for strong legal safeguards to ensure accountability and prevent oppression.
The inauguration was attended by attorneys-general and commissioners for justice from Plateau, Lagos and Ondo states, as well as representatives of the Inspector-General of Police, the National Security Adviser and other senior government officials.
