The Presidential Working Group on the proposed National Policing Bill has invited Nigerians to submit memoranda and policy proposals as part of efforts to develop a comprehensive legal and operational framework for state policing.
The Chairman of the Working Group and Chief of Staff to the President, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, announced the initiative on Monday following the group’s meeting at the State House in Abuja.
According to Gbajabiamila, the Working Group is reviewing the Police Act 2020, the Police Service Commission framework, police regulations, and other relevant legislation to support the development of a modern, effective policing system.
The proposed framework will establish national minimum standards for policing, define state readiness and certification requirements, clarify jurisdictional responsibilities, provide for independent oversight, safeguard human rights, and ensure sustainable funding. It will also outline a structured transition to a dual-policing system comprising federal and state police services.
To encourage broad participation, the Working Group has opened a two-week window for the submission of memoranda from citizens, professional bodies, civil society organisations, security agencies, state and local governments, academics, and other stakeholders. The submissions will be reviewed and incorporated into the draft bill before it undergoes further nationwide consultations ahead of its transmission to the National Assembly.
The Working Group has adopted a seven-week work plan spanning July 27 to September 14, 2026. Under the schedule, the draft Executive Bill will be presented to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on September 3, 2026, after which it will be subjected to national consultations before final approval.
The proposed National Policing Bill will prescribe standards for recruitment, training, oversight, funding, and transition arrangements aimed at promoting credible, effective, and accountable policing across the country.
“A proposed State Police Service must demonstrate that it has credible arrangements for recruitment, vetting, training, pay, pensions, equipment, custody, complaints, discipline, data, firearms control, independent oversight and financial sustainability before it begins policing,” Gbajabiamila said.
Representing the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun described the proposed establishment of state police as a landmark reform and one of the defining initiatives of President Tinubu’s administration.
Addressing concerns over possible federal interference, Abiodun said the proposed legislation is not intended to place state police under federal control but to provide a clear operational framework that will ensure professionalism, accountability, and uniform standards nationwide.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, said the proposed legislation is designed to strengthen the security of lives and property while ensuring that state police structures are not used as instruments of political persecution.
He added that states not immediately prepared to establish their own police services would continue to rely on the Nigeria Police Force until they satisfy the prescribed operational and institutional requirements.
Other participants at the meeting included the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu; President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Afam Osigwe; Chairman of the Policy Advisory Committee, Justice Abdullahi Liman (Rtd.); Head of the Nigeria Police Reform Secretariat, Professor Olu Ogunsakin; Senior Special Assistant to the President on Planning and Research, Nnadubem Moghalu; and Brigadier General Olutayo Muyiwa Adesuyi, who represented the National Security Adviser.