Tinubu Inaugurates Taskforce to Draft National Policing Bill for State Police
President Bola Tinubu has inaugurated the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, tasked with creating the legal framework for implementing citizens’ state police nationwide. This initiative follows a constitutional amendment proposing a dual policing structure, with the new bill set to establish operational standards, accountability, and human rights safeguards. Governors, the AGF, and the NBA have pledged their support, underscoring the urgency and the need for robust legal protections.
President Bola Tinubu has inaugurated the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, marking a major step toward establishing a legal framework for the proposed state police system in Nigeria.
Represented by his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, at the inauguration in Abuja, Tinubu said the National Policing Bill would operationalise the proposed Constitution Alteration (State Police) Bill, 2026, which seeks to create a dual policing structure comprising the Federal Police Service and 36 State Police Services.
The proposed legislation will address issues including minimum policing standards, federal-state coordination, accountability, human rights protections, funding, and state readiness for implementation.
The working group has been tasked with producing an implementation-ready draft of the National Policing Bill for immediate transmission to the National Assembly. Chaired by Gbajabiamila, the committee includes the Attorney-General of the Federation, the Inspector-General of Police, the National Security Adviser, the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors' Forum (NGF), and the Chairman of the NGF Committee on State Police.
Tinubu urged the group not to wait for the constitutional amendment process to conclude before completing its assignment, describing the initiative as essential to strengthening Nigeria's security architecture.
Speaking on behalf of the governors, Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun pledged support for the reform, saying states would fast-track legislative action once the bill reaches their Houses of Assembly. He described state policing as a response to long-standing calls for community-based security and said each state could recruit about 6,000 officers, potentially adding nearly 200,000 personnel to complement the federal police.
Attorney-General Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) called for swift ratification of the constitutional amendment by state legislatures, while NBA President Afam Osigwe backed the proposal but stressed the need for strong legal safeguards to prevent political interference and abuse of state police powers.