Tinubu to receive draft Bill September 3
- FG sets national minimum standards for State Police
By Our Reporters
The Federal Government has unveiled a seven-week roadmap for the proposed National Policing Bill and is seeking public input on the framework.
This is just as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is expected to receive the draft Executive Bill on September 3, 2026.
The government has also set national minimum standards that any aspiring State Police Service must meet before commencing operations, with the Chief of Staff to the President declaring that no state will be allowed to establish a police service until it meets prescribed criteria for professionalism, accountability, and citizens’ rights protection.
The initiative comes as the constitutional amendment establishing state police has cleared both chambers of the National Assembly but awaits ratification by state Houses of Assembly.
The Senate passed its version on June 24, 2026, while the House of Representatives passed the Executive Bill on July 23, 2026. However, the amendment cannot take effect until at least 24 of the 36 state Houses of Assembly approve it, with governors reportedly agreeing to ensure simultaneous passage once the bill is transmitted to them.
Chief of Staff to the President and Chairman of the Presidential Working Group, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, announced the roadmap on Monday after the Working Group’s meeting at the State House, Abuja.
Gbajabiamila said 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.
“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,” he said.
The seven-week work programme runs from July 27 to September 14, 2026, he added.
According to him, 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.
“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,” Gbajabiamila stated.
He said submissions received from the public would be reviewed and integrated into the draft bill, which would then be subject to further national consultation before being finalised and sent to the National Assembly.
“The constitutional amendment creates the authority and broad architecture for federal and state policing, but it does not by itself provide the complete operating framework,” Gbajabiamila explained, stressing that separate legislation was required to establish a full operational framework.
The proposed constitutional amendment would move policing from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent Legislative List, allowing states to establish their own police services.
The bill includes several safeguards against abuse, including provisions that governors cannot unilaterally appoint or sack Commissioners of Police, and that any directive to state police must be of a general policy nature rather than targeting specific individuals or political opponents.
Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, who represented the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, described the initiative as one of the defining reforms of President Tinubu’s administration.
“It is a landmark reform that will address the security challenges facing our nation,” Abiodun said.
Responding to concerns about federal overreach, he clarified that there is no Federal attempt to control State Police.
“There is no Federal attempt to control State Police. The proposed legislation is intended to provide an operational framework rather than centralise control,” the Ogun State governor stated.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince 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 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,” Fagbemi said.
He 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.
“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,” the AGF stated.
Gbajabiamila also announced the launch of a dedicated online platform, nationalpolicingbill.com, through which Nigerians can monitor the reform process and submit memoranda, position papers and policy proposals. Submissions will remain open for about 10 days, with the possibility of an extension if necessary.
The proposed state police structure is expected to significantly improve Nigeria’s police-to-population ratio by creating an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 additional security personnel nationwide.
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, Justice Abdullahi Liman (rtd); Professor Olu Ogunsakin, Head, Nigeria Police Reform Secretariat; Senior Special Assistant to the President on Planning and Research, Nnadubem Moghalu; and Brigadier General Olutayo Muyiwa Adesuyi, representing the National Security Adviser.
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