State Police framework near completion, constitution amendment expected soon —Presidency

By Adebola Isimijola, Lagos

The Presidency has said significant progress has been made towards the establishment of state police, with a constitutional amendment expected soon to provide the legal framework for its implementation.

Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday following a consultative meeting on state police convened by the Presidency at the State House, Abuja.

According to the statement, Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, said deliberations on the proposed state police framework began about three to four months ago on the directive of President Bola Tinubu and had since gained considerable traction.

“We started deliberations in the last three or four months on how to go about the establishment of state police as directed by Mr President,” Gbajabiamila told State House Correspondents after the meeting.

He noted that the creation of state police involves extensive constitutional and legal processes and cannot be implemented hastily.

“Establishing state police is not something that you do with the snap of the fingers. There is a lot involved in terms of constitution and legalities, and thank God we have now gained a lot of traction,” he said.

Gbajabiamila expressed optimism that the constitutional amendment would be introduced soon, adding that details of the proposed changes would be made public thereafter.

He explained that discussions have advanced to the stage of considering the constitutional amendment required for state police, while the enabling legislation would follow subsequently.

The Chief of Staff said there was now broad national support for the initiative, stressing that the conversation had moved beyond whether state police should be established to creating the appropriate legal and institutional framework for its operation.

According to the statement, President Tinubu, a long-standing advocate of state police, will receive a comprehensive report on the outcome of the consultations.

The meeting forms part of ongoing efforts by the Federal Government to develop a workable framework for state police as a means of strengthening internal security, improving local intelligence gathering and enhancing the capacity of state governments to tackle emerging security challenges.

The Presidency said Tinubu has consistently maintained that a decentralised policing structure is necessary to address Nigeria’s evolving security threats and improve the protection of lives and property across the country.

Those at the meeting included the Deputy President of the Senate, Jibrin Barau; the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu; the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi; and the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, among other senior government officials.