President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has inaugurated the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, directing it to prepare the legal framework required for the implementation of state police across Nigeria. The committee is chaired by Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila and includes Attorney-General of the Federation Lateef Fagbemi, National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun, and other key stakeholders.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has inaugurated the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill as part of efforts to operationalise state police across Nigeria.
The committee was inaugurated at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, with a mandate to draft the legal framework that will guide the implementation of the proposed dual policing system following the passage of the Constitution Alteration (State Police) Bill, 2026, by the National Assembly.
Represented at the inauguration by his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, President Tinubu said the constitutional amendment establishing state police provides only the framework for decentralised policing, while a separate National Policing Bill is required to make the system operational.
According to the President, the proposed legislation will provide detailed provisions on minimum policing standards, state readiness certification, federal-state coordination, accountability mechanisms, human rights safeguards and fiscal responsibilities.
He explained that the committee has been tasked with producing a technically robust and implementation-ready draft bill for transmission to the National Assembly immediately after the constitutional amendment process is completed.
The Presidential Working Group is chaired by Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila.
Other members include the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN); National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; Ogun State Governor and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum Committee on State Police, Dapo Abiodun; President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Afam Osigwe (SAN); representatives of the Nigeria Police Force, state attorneys-general, legal advisers and senior officials from relevant government institutions.
The inauguration follows months of consultations on state policing and comes after the National Assembly passed the Constitution Alteration (State Police) Bill, 2026, which proposes a dual policing structure comprising the Federal Police Service and separate State Police Services.
Successive administrations have debated the establishment of state police as a response to Nigeria’s growing security challenges, including terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and communal violence. Supporters argue that decentralised policing would improve local intelligence gathering and response times, while critics have raised concerns over possible political abuse and funding challenges.
President Tinubu stressed that the Federal Government should not wait until the constitutional amendment process is fully concluded before preparing the legislation needed to implement state police.
He directed the committee to produce an implementation-ready National Policing Bill that addresses operational standards, accountability, intergovernmental coordination and constitutional safeguards to ensure the successful rollout of the new policing structure.
The inauguration of the Presidential Working Group marks another significant milestone in Nigeria’s ongoing police reform efforts. If successfully completed, the National Policing Bill will provide the legal foundation for implementing state police, a proposal many stakeholders believe could reshape the country’s security architecture while introducing a new era of shared policing responsibilities between the Federal Government and the states.