ABUJA, Nigeria — President Bola Tinubu has inaugurated a presidential working group to draft the National Policing Bill, which will provide the legal framework for implementing state police across the country, following the Senate’s passage of the Constitution Alteration (State Police) Bill, 2026.
The President, represented by his Chief of Staff, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, inaugurated the panel at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Tuesday. Gbajabiamila will serve as chairman of the committee.
Tinubu said the committee comprises key stakeholders, including the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi; the National Security Adviser; the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu; the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Afam Osigwe; the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq; and the Chairman of the NGF Committee on State Police.
The President explained that while the constitutional amendment establishes the framework for dual policing, it does not operationalise it. “That work is left to the National Policing Bill,” he said.
According to Tinubu, the proposed legislation would address minimum policing standards, state readiness certification, federal-state coordination, accountability, human rights safeguards, personnel transition, and fiscal requirements.
The President stressed that the committee was constituted to produce a technically sound, implementation-ready draft bill for transmission to the National Assembly immediately after the constitutional amendment process is concluded.
“We must not wait until the constitutional process is concluded before beginning this important assignment,” Tinubu said.
Speaking on behalf of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun pledged the governors’ commitment to the speedy implementation of the reform, adding that all 36 governors would work to ensure the constitutional amendment is swiftly considered and passed by their respective state Houses of Assembly.
Abiodun described the proposed state police as a response to Nigerians’ long-standing demand for community-based policing, noting that the initiative validates the success of regional security outfits such as Amotekun in the South-West. According to him, the establishment of state police would significantly increase the number of security personnel nationwide, adding that “if each state deploys about 6,000 personnel, we will add nearly 200,000 officers to complement the existing federal police.”
The Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, described the initiative as timely in view of Nigeria’s security challenges, saying “there is no denying the fact that we are at a critical moment security-wise, and all hands must be on deck.”
The President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Afam Osigwe, reaffirmed the association’s support for the state police initiative, while stressing the need for adequate legal safeguards to prevent abuse. “We must ensure we do not create a monster. The right legal framework must guarantee accountability and prevent oppression,” Osigwe said.
The development follows the Senate’s passage of the Constitution Alteration (State Police) Bill, 2026, which proposes a dual policing structure comprising the Federal Police Service and 36 State Police Services. The constitutional amendment now awaits ratification by at least two-thirds of the 36 state Houses of Assembly before it can be forwarded to President Tinubu for presidential assent.
