•Working group opens portal for public input • ‘It is Tinubu’s most consequential reforms’

The process leading to the creation of state police has been fast-tracked.

A seven-week roadmap for the National Policing Bill commenced on July 27 and is expected to be completed on September 14.

Chairman of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, unveiled the action plan yesterday after the group’s meeting.

He said the seven-week work programme would proceed through simultaneous legal drafting, policy research, data analysis and implementation modelling.

Gbajabiamila added that the final submission would include schedules, an explanatory memorandum, a legal audit, a consequential amendments matrix, clause-by-clause analysis, a state readiness framework, fiscal and implementation notes, a validation report, a risk register and a digital archive.

The Chief of Staff reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to decentralised policing that would not undermine national unity or the rule of law.

He said: “State police cannot mean 36 state militias,” adding that while states must have a legitimate role in public safety, “no political office holder should be able to direct the arrest of an opponent, the suppression of lawful political activity, or the selective enforcement of the law.”

Gbajabiamila explained that federal intervention would remain “exceptional, evidence-based, proportionate, time-limited and reviewable”, while officers would remain accountable to the Constitution rather than political interests.

He said no state would be permitted to commence policing operations until it demonstrated readiness in recruitment, training, equipment, pensions, complaints handling, financial sustainability, firearms control and independent oversight.

Gbajabiamila added: “Operational commencement must be based on readiness, not announcement. Although states could exceed national benchmarks, no Nigerian should receive a lower standard of protection because of where they reside.”

To encourage public participation, the Chief of Staff called for memoranda and position papers from Nigerians, civil society organisations, professional bodies, security institutions and other stakeholders.

He said a dedicated portal, nationalpolicingbill.com, had gone live to receive submissions, with plans to migrate it to a government domain.

On the financial implications of the reform, Gbajabiamila said it was premature to estimate the cost, noting that expenditure would be determined through empirical research conducted on a state-by-state basis.

He dismissed fears that some states might lack the capacity to establish police services.

However, Gbajabiamila explained that where a state is genuinely unable to meet the prescribed standards, the Nigeria Police Force would continue to provide policing services until the state becomes operational.

Gbajabiamila said the committee is expected to submit an Executive Bill to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on September 3.

He said the package would go beyond draft legislation, adding that it would also provide the implementation blueprint required to operationalise a dual federal-state policing architecture once the constitutional amendment creating state police comes into force.

Hailing the initiative, Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun described the National Policing Bill as one of President Tinubu’s most consequential reforms.

Also assuring Nigerians of the prospects of the initiative, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), said the enforcement of national standards would prevent abuse of state police and protect citizens.

Explaining further, Gbajabiamila said that following the completion of the draft, nationwide consultations would be held before the President grants final approval, after which the executive bill would be transmitted to the National Assembly.

He said: “The resulting draft executive bill package is scheduled for presentation to the President on the 3rd of September.

“We have tweaked the process so that the national consultation will come before the President’s final approval, after which the text and supporting materials will be revised and prepared for formal transmission to the National Assembly.”

He stressed that despite the progress made by the National Assembly, no state police service currently exists in Nigeria because the constitutional amendment has not yet secured the approval of the required number of state Houses of Assembly.

He said that while the constitutional amendment would create the legal authority for state policing, it would not by itself resolve critical operational issues such as recruitment, training, funding, command structures, jurisdiction, pensions, firearms regulation, data management, complaints mechanisms and inter-agency cooperation.

Gbajabiamila explained that those issues would be addressed in the National Policing Bill and other consequential legislation being prepared by the working group.

Gbajabiamila said the assignment also includes a review of the Police Act 2020, the Police Service Commission framework, police regulations and other laws affected by the reform, alongside provisions for minimum national policing standards, state certification, interstate cooperation, independent complaints institutions, human rights safeguards, forensic systems, funding arrangements and transition plans.

He said President Tinubu had approved a multidisciplinary Policy Advisory Committee, chaired by Justice Mohammed Abdullahi Liman, to provide technical oversight and validate the bill, fiscal framework and implementation materials before executive consideration.

He said the committee would draw its membership from the judiciary, academia, security agencies, the National Assembly, the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigerian Bar Association, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and state Attorneys-General representing the six geopolitical zones. NigerianBusiness Coverage

Abiodun described the National Policing Bill as one of the most consequential reforms of the Tinubu administration, saying the legislation would provide the legal and operational framework needed to translate the constitutional amendment into a workable policing system.

Abiodun, who represents the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) on the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, told reporters that the bill would address critical issues, including the jurisdiction of federal and state police, funding arrangements, recruitment, start-up grants for states and amendments to existing laws affected by the reform.

He noted that many Nigerians had assumed that states would immediately establish police services once the National Assembly approved the constitutional amendment, explaining that the current assignment of the working group is to produce the detailed implementation framework that would make the reform operational. NigerianBusiness Coverage

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Abiodun said: “What we’ve seen and witnessed is the amendment of the Constitution, and we’ve seen a groundswell of support by the entirety of Nigerians with a very high level of expectation that once the amendment was completed by the National Assembly, the next thing is for states to begin to implement their various state policing systems.

“The truth is that what this working group is working on is what would allow for the details of that implementation, which will be reflected in the bill.”

Abiodun dismissed insinuations that the Federal Government was attempting to retain control over state policing through the proposed legislation, insisting that the bill was intended only to translate the constitutional amendment into an effective and workable legal framework.

He said: “Someone has to be responsible for ensuring that the amendment now reflects in a bill that can be operated, and that’s what we’re working on.”

The governor explained that the legislation would also make consequential amendments to other existing laws, including the Firearms Act, while clearly defining the responsibilities of both federal and state police services.

He urged Nigerians to actively participate in shaping the proposed legislation through the newly launched public engagement portal, nationalpolicingbill.com, describing it as an interactive platform designed to give citizens a sense of ownership of the reform. NigerianBusiness Coverage

Fagbemi said the primary objective of the proposed legislation was to strengthen the protection of lives and property while ensuring that state police never become instruments of political persecution.

He explained that where any state is not yet prepared to establish its own police service, the Nigeria Police Force would continue to provide policing until such capacity is developed.

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Fagbemi said: “Law abhors a vacuum, so the federal presence will continue to dominate in that area.”

The minister defended the proposed minimum national policing standards, saying they were essential to guarantee equal protection for Nigerians irrespective of where they reside. NigerianBusiness Coverage

He said: “The main thrust of this bill is to ensure security of lives and property, and it is also important that we do not make state policing a weapon of political persecution or oppression.

“There must be standards. There must be the minimum threshold to guarantee the continued existence and operation of society.”

The minister said the standards would be aligned with globally recognised policing practices, assuring that officers moving between the federal and state police services would not lose their benefits.

Other members of the Presidential Working Group at the briefing included the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu; NBA President Afam Osigwe (SAN); Chairman of the Policy Advisory Committee, Justice Abdullahi Liman; and Senior Special Assistant to the President on Planning and Research, Nnadubem Moghalu.