President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday inaugurated the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill to prepare the legal framework for the implementation of state police across the country.
Represented by his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the President said the proposed legislation would provide the legal structure for the operation of the country’s planned dual policing system after the passage of the Constitution Alteration (State Police) Bill, 2026.
“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,” Tinubu said.
He said the bill would contain provisions on minimum policing standards, state readiness certification, federal-state coordination, accountability, human rights safeguards and fiscal conditions.
“The Working Group has been constituted to produce a technically robust, implementation-ready draft National Policing Bill for transmission to the National Assembly,” he said, adding that the government could not afford to wait until the constitutional amendment process was completed before beginning work on the legislation.
The committee, chaired by Gbajabiamila, includes the Attorney-General of the Federation, the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, the National Security Adviser, the Inspector-General of Police and the Chairman of the NGF Committee on State Police.
Speaking on behalf of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun said governors would work to ensure the speedy passage of the constitutional amendment by their respective state Houses of Assembly.
“This bill has answered the cries of Nigerians about cascading policing and removing it from the Exclusive Legislative List,” Abiodun said.
He said state police would strengthen security nationwide, noting that if each state recruited about 6,000 personnel, nearly 200,000 additional officers would complement the federal police.
Attorney-General of the Federation Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) described the initiative as timely, urging governors to facilitate the quick ratification of the constitutional amendment.
“There is no denying the fact that we are in a critical moment security-wise, and all hands must be on deck,” he said.
NBA President Afam Osigwe also backed the initiative but cautioned against abuse.
“We must ensure we do not create a monster. The right legal framework must guarantee accountability and prevent oppression,” he said.