Tinubu inaugurates panel to prepare legal framework for state police

By Adebola Isimijola, Lagos

President Bola Ahmed 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, marking another major step towards the establishment of a dual policing system.

The committee is expected to produce an implementation-ready National Policing Bill that will guide the operation of the proposed Federal Police Service and the 36 State Police Services once the ongoing constitutional amendment process is completed.

President Tinubu, represented by his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, inaugurated the panel at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, according to a State House statement issued on Tuesday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.

The inauguration followed the passage of the Constitution Alteration (State Police) Bill, 2026 by the National Assembly, which seeks to create a dual policing structure comprising the Federal Police Service and state police services across the 36 states.

Tinubu said while the constitutional amendment provides the framework for state police, the National Policing Bill would establish the legal and operational structure needed for its implementation.

He said the proposed legislation would address key issues, including minimum policing standards, state readiness certification, federal-state coordination, accountability, human rights safeguards and fiscal conditions to ensure a smooth transition to the new policing system.

The President said the working group had been constituted to produce a technically robust and implementation-ready draft bill for transmission to the National Assembly immediately after the constitutional amendment process, stressing that preparations should not wait until the amendment is concluded.

“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.

The committee, chaired by Gbajabiamila, comprises 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, the Chairman of the NGF Committee on State Police and a secretariat to provide administrative support.

Speaking on behalf of the governors, Dapo Abiodun pledged the support of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum for the speedy implementation of the reform, saying governors would work to ensure prompt consideration of the constitutional amendment 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 and said it would build on the success of regional security outfits such as Amotekun in the South-West.

He added that if each state recruits about 6,000 personnel, nearly 200,000 additional officers would be available to complement the existing federal police, while commending Tinubu for initiating implementation plans before the constitutional amendment process is completed.

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, described the initiative as timely in view of the country’s security challenges and appealed to governors to ensure the early ratification of the constitutional amendment by their state assemblies.

Also speaking, the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Afam Osigwe, reaffirmed the association’s support for state police, saying Nigeria could no longer be effectively policed by a single national police force.

Osigwe, however, stressed that the enabling law must contain adequate safeguards to guarantee accountability, protect citizens’ rights and prevent abuse of the proposed state police system.

Other dignitaries at the inauguration included Attorneys-General and Commissioners for Justice of Plateau, Lagos and Ondo states, representatives of the Inspector-General of Police and the National Security Adviser, as well as other senior government officials.