President Bola Tinubu has taken a major step toward the establishment of state police in Nigeria, inaugurating a seven-member Presidential Working Group tasked with drafting the National Policing Bill that will serve as the legal foundation for the implementation of the proposed security reform.
The committee was inaugurated on Tuesday at the State House in Abuja by the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, who represented Tinubu at the event.
The high-powered panel, chaired by Gbajabiamila, comprises 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. A dedicated secretariat will provide administrative support to the group.
The development comes on the heels of the National Assembly’s passage of the Constitution Alteration (State Police) Bill, 2026, which seeks to establish a dual policing system consisting of a Federal Police Service and 36 State Police Services.
Speaking through his representative, Tinubu said the constitutional amendment only creates the framework for state policing, while the National Policing Bill will provide the practical legal structure required to make the system operational.
“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 stated.
According to him, the proposed legislation will address critical areas necessary for the successful implementation of state police, including minimum policing standards, state readiness certification, coordination between federal and state security structures, accountability mechanisms, human rights protections, and financial requirements.
Tinubu explained that the working group was deliberately constituted ahead of the completion of the constitutional amendment process to ensure there would be no delay in rolling out the reform once the legal groundwork is finalized.
“The Working Group has been constituted to produce a technically robust, implementation-ready draft National Policing Bill for transmission to the National Assembly,” he said.
He stressed that government could not afford to wait for the constitutional process to be fully concluded before beginning work on the operational framework.
“We must not wait until the constitutional process is concluded before beginning this important assignment,” he added.
On behalf of the governors, Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, pledged the commitment of all 36 state governors to support the reform and facilitate its swift implementation.
Abiodun assured that governors would work with their respective state Houses of Assembly to expedite the passage of the constitutional amendment once it is transmitted for ratification.
He described the move as a response to longstanding calls for community-based policing and greater decentralisation of security management.
“This bill has answered the cries of Nigerians about cascading policing and removing it from the Exclusive Legislative List,” he said.
The governor noted that the proposal builds on the achievements of regional security initiatives such as Amotekun, which have complemented existing security efforts in parts of the country.
He further argued that state police would significantly boost Nigeria’s security manpower, estimating that if each state recruits about 6,000 personnel, nearly 200,000 additional officers could be added to strengthen law enforcement nationwide.
“If each state deploys about 6,000 personnel, we will add nearly 200,000 officers to complement the existing federal police,” he said.
Abiodun also commended the Tinubu administration for beginning implementation planning before the constitutional amendment process is completed, describing the move as evidence of proactive governance.
Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, described the initiative as a timely intervention amid Nigeria’s persistent security challenges.
“There is no denying the fact that we are in a critical moment security-wise, and all hands must be on deck,” Fagbemi said.
He called on governors to ensure the speedy ratification of the constitutional amendment by their state legislatures, stressing that the success of the reform depends on collective action.
“I appeal to the governors to do their utmost to ensure the early passage of the constitutional amendment because this is a shared responsibility,” he added.
Also speaking, Afam Osigwe, reaffirmed the support of the Nigerian Bar Association for the creation of state police, arguing that a single national police force can no longer effectively meet the country’s security demands.
“Nigeria can hardly be effectively policed by one national police. We fully support the constitutional amendment providing for state police,” Osigwe said.
However, he cautioned that robust legal safeguards must be built into the system to prevent abuse of power and protect citizens from possible oppression.
“We must ensure we do not create a monster. The right legal framework must guarantee accountability and prevent oppression,” he warned.
Osigwe pledged the NBA’s collaboration with the working group to ensure the proposed legislation strengthens national security while safeguarding democratic principles, human rights and the rule of law.
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