The federal government has announced a seven-week roadmap, including a call for memoranda on how to seamlessly transition Nigeria from a unitary policing system to one that allows for state police.
Presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga, in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES, said the “Presidential Working Group on the proposed National Policing Bill has invited Nigerians to submit memoranda and policy proposals as part of efforts to establish a comprehensive legal and operational framework for state policing.”
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President Bola Tinubu has made the creation of state police one of his cardinal programmes to address insecurity across Nigeria. PREMIUM TIMES reports that a bill to alter the constitution and allow for state policing has already been passed by the National Assembly but still needs the support of 24 of Nigeria’s 36 state assemblies and the signature of the president to become law.
Critics of state police have argued that state governors may abuse them. However, Mr Onanuga said the framework being developed would address such concerns.
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“The proposed framework will set national minimum standards, define state readiness and grant certification, clarify jurisdictional responsibilities, ensure independent oversight, uphold human rights, and guarantee sustainable funding. It would also spell out an orderly transition to a dual-policing structure,” he wrote.
The presidential committee also urged Nigerians to contribute to its work.
“The call for memoranda will run for two weeks, allowing citizens, professionals, civil society, security agencies, state and local governments, academics, and other stakeholders to contribute.
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“Submissions will be reviewed and integrated into the draft bill, which will then be subject to further national consultation before being finalised and sent to the National Assembly,” Mr Onanuga wrote.
Read Mr Onanuga’s full statement below.
The Presidential Working Group on the proposed National Policing Bill has invited Nigerians to submit memoranda and policy proposals as part of efforts to establish a comprehensive legal and operational framework for state policing.
Chief of Staff to the President and Chairman of the Working Group, Femi Gbajabiamila, announced this on Monday after the Working Group’s meeting at the State House, Abuja.
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 an effective, modern policing system.
The proposed framework will set national minimum standards, define state readiness and grant certification, clarify jurisdictional responsibilities, ensure independent oversight, uphold human rights, and guarantee sustainable funding. It would also spell out an orderly transition to a dual-policing structure.
The call for memoranda will run for two weeks, allowing citizens, professionals, civil society, security agencies, state and local governments, academics, and other stakeholders to contribute. Submissions will be reviewed and integrated into the draft bill, which will then be subject to further national consultation before being finalised and sent to the National Assembly.
The Working Group has adopted a seven-week work programme running from 27 July to 14 September 2026. The draft Executive Bill is scheduled for presentation to President Bola Tinubu on 3 September 2026, with national consultations to follow before the final approval.
The new National Policing Bill will set out requirements for recruitment, training, oversight, funding, and transition arrangements to ensure credible, effective, and accountable policing nationwide.
“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,” Mr Gbajabiamila said.
The representative of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and Governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, who described State Police as a landmark reform, described the initiative as one of the defining reforms of President Tinubu’s administration.
Responding to concerns about federal overreach, he clarified that there is no federal attempt to control State Police. He added that the proposed legislation is intended to provide an operational framework rather than centralise control.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, said the proposed National Policing Bill is designed to guarantee the security of lives and property while ensuring that the establishment of state police does not become a tool for political persecution.
The attorney-general added that states not immediately ready to establish their own police services would continue to benefit from the presence of the federal police until they meet the required standards.
Other participants at the meeting included the Inspector General of Police, Tunji Disu; President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Afam Osigwe; Chairman, Policy Advisory Committee, Abdullahi Liman; Olu Ogunsakin, head, Nigeria Police Reform Secretariat; Senior Special Assistant to the President on Planning and Research, Nnadubem Moghalu; and Olutayo Adesuyi, a brigadier general, representing the National Security Adviser.
Bayo Onanuga
Special Adviser to the President
(Information & Strategy)
August 3, 2026
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