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 in the country.
Chief of Staff to the President and Chairman of the Working Group, Femi Gbajabiamila, announced the call for public submissions after the group’s meeting at the State House in Abuja.
Gbajabiamila said the Working Group is reviewing the Police Act 2020, the Police Service Commission framework, police regulations, and other relevant laws to support the development of a modern, effective, and accountable policing system.
According to him, the proposed legislation will establish national minimum standards for state police, define readiness and certification requirements for states, clarify jurisdictional responsibilities, provide for independent oversight, safeguard human rights, and ensure sustainable funding.
He added that the framework would also outline a structured transition to a dual-policing system involving both federal and state police services.
The Working Group explained that the call for memoranda would remain open for two weeks, allowing citizens, security agencies, professional bodies, civil society organisations, academics, and state and local governments to contribute to the drafting process.
The submissions, according to the group, will be reviewed and incorporated into the draft bill before wider national consultations are held ahead of its presentation to the National Assembly.
The Working Group has adopted a seven-week work plan running from July 27 to September 14, 2026. The draft Executive Bill is expected to be presented to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on September 3, after which further consultations will precede its final approval.
Gbajabiamila stressed that any proposed State Police Service must meet clearly defined standards before commencing operations.
“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,”
Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, who represented the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, described the proposed establishment of state police as one of the landmark reforms of the Tinubu administration.
He dismissed concerns that the Federal Government intends to control state police, explaining that the proposed legislation is designed to provide an operational framework rather than centralise authority.
Also speaking, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, said the National Policing Bill is intended to strengthen the security of lives and property while ensuring that state police are not used as instruments of political persecution.
He added that states not immediately ready to establish their own police services would continue to rely on the Federal Police until they satisfy the prescribed operational requirements.
The meeting was attended by the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun’s successor, IGP 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, representing the National Security Adviser.