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 July 27 to September 14, 2026. The draft Executive Bill is scheduled for presentation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on September 3, 2026, with national consultations to follow before the final approval.
“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 said.
Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun, representing the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, described State Police as a landmark reform and one of the defining reforms of President Tinubu’s administration, clarifying that there is no federal attempt to control State Police.
The Attorney-General of the Federation, 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.