President Bola Tinubu has taken the first formal step towards implementing state police in Nigeria by inaugurating a Presidential Working Group to draft the National Policing Bill, signalling that the federal government is moving ahead with preparations even before the constitutional amendment establishing state police is concluded.
The working group, inaugurated Tuesday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja and chaired by the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, will prepare the legal framework required to operationalise Nigeria’s proposed dual policing system comprising the Federal Police Service and 36 State Police Services.
Represented at the ceremony by Gbajabiamila, President Tinubu said while the Constitution Alteration (State Police) Bill recently passed by the National Assembly establishes the framework for state police, a separate National Policing Bill is required to define how the system will function.
“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,” the President said.
According to him, the proposed legislation will provide detailed provisions covering minimum policing standards, state readiness certification, federal-state coordination, fiscal requirements, accountability mechanisms and human rights safeguards.
Tinubu said the decision to commence drafting the legislation before the constitutional amendment process is completed is intended to eliminate implementation delays once the amendment receives final approval.
“We must not wait until the constitutional process is concluded before beginning this important assignment,” he said.
The committee has been mandated to produce an implementation-ready draft bill for transmission to the National Assembly immediately after the constitutional amendment process is completed.
Its membership includes the Attorney-General of the Federation, the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), the National Security Adviser, the Inspector-General of Police and the Chairman of the NGF Committee on State Police.
Governors Back State Police
Speaking on behalf of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun pledged the support of state governors for the initiative, saying governors would work to ensure speedy passage of the constitutional amendment by their respective Houses of Assembly.
Abiodun described state police as a response to longstanding public demands for community-based policing and said the reform could substantially strengthen Nigeria’s security architecture.
“If each state deploys about 6,000 personnel, we will add nearly 200,000 officers to complement the existing federal police,” he said.
He also cited the success of regional security outfits such as Amotekun as evidence that decentralised policing can improve local security.
NBA Seeks Safeguards Against Abuse
Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, described the initiative as timely given Nigeria’s current security challenges and urged governors to accelerate ratification of the constitutional amendment.
“There is no denying the fact that we are in a critical moment security-wise, and all hands must be on deck,” he said.
President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Afam Osigwe, also endorsed the state police initiative but cautioned against creating a policing structure that could be abused by state authorities.
“Nigeria can hardly be effectively policed by one national police. We fully support the constitutional amendment providing for state police,” he said.
Osigwe, however, stressed that the legislation must contain strong accountability and human rights safeguards.
“We must ensure we do not create a monster. The right legal framework must guarantee accountability and prevent oppression,” he added.
The inauguration comes as the constitutional amendment establishing state police awaits approval by at least two-thirds of the country’s State Houses of Assembly before it can be transmitted to the President for assent.
