FG Begins Consultations On State Police Legal Framework September 3
The Federal Government has begun developing the legal and operational framework for state police, with nationwide consultations scheduled to commence on September 3 as part of efforts to prepare for the implementation of a dual policing system.
Speaking yesterday, Chief of Staff to the President and Chairman of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, Femi Gbajabiamila, said the seven week exercise would produce a comprehensive National Policing Bill to guide the transition from a single federal police structure to a federal and state policing system.
Explaining the background, Gbajabiamila said although the Senate approved the constitutional proposal on June 24 and the House of Representatives passed the Executive State Police Bill on July 23, no state police service currently exists in Nigeria because the constitutional amendment process is yet to be completed.
He noted that the amendment would only take effect after it receives the constitutionally required approval of state Houses of Assembly and the enactment of implementing legislation, stressing that the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) remains the country’s only constitutionally recognised policing institution.
Emphasising the need for a legal framework, he said: “There is no operational state police service anywhere in Nigeria today. The Nigerian Police Force remains the constitutionally recognised police institution.
“The constitutional amendment creates the authority and broad architecture for federal and state policing, but it does not by itself provide the complete operating framework,” he said.
He explained that the proposed National Policing Bill would address recruitment, training, funding, command structure, jurisdiction, complaints mechanisms, data management, firearms regulation, pensions, transition arrangements and inter agency cooperation.
According to him, President Bola Tinubu constituted the Presidential Working Group to ensure Nigeria is fully prepared to implement state policing once the constitutional process is concluded. He added that the group would also conduct a comprehensive audit of the Police Act 2020, Police Service Commission laws, police regulations and other legislation affected by the reform.
Highlighting the mandate of the committee, Gbajabiamila said: “Our mandate is to produce a technically robust, implementation ready National Policing Bill and supporting legislative package.
“We are building the legal and operational framework required to move from one federal police institution to a workable dual policing architecture.”
He further disclosed that the Working Group includes representatives of the Presidency, the Federal Ministry of Justice, the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA). He added that President Tinubu had approved a multidisciplinary Policy Advisory Committee chaired by retired Justice Mohammed Abdullahi Liman to provide independent technical oversight.
Gbajabiamila stated that the work programme would run from July 27 to September 14, 2026, while the Federal Government had also opened the process for memoranda and policy submissions from Nigerians, professional bodies, civil society organisations, security institutions and sub national governments ahead of the nationwide consultations. He added that the final legislative package would be submitted to President Tinubu before transmission to the National Assembly.
