The presidency has urged Nigerians to submit their views on the proposed National Policing Bill before the public consultation closes at 5pm on Thursday, August 13, 2026.
The Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu and Chairman of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, Femi Gbajabiamila, disclosed the deadline on Wednesday, stressing the need for broad public participation in the proposed policing reforms.
Gbajabiamila said contributions from Nigerians would help the government address critical issues surrounding the proposed establishment of state police, including political interference, police misconduct, oversight and intelligence-sharing between federal and state security services.
He said the consultation was intended to draw from the experiences and professional expertise of Nigerians but would not replace the constitutional role of the National Assembly.
According to him, the National Assembly would retain the authority to scrutinise, amend, reject or pass the Bill once it is formally transmitted for legislative consideration.
Gbajabiamila urged Nigerians to focus their submissions on practical safeguards that would prevent state police from being abused by political authorities. He specifically asked citizens to consider who should investigate serious police misconduct, how officers could be protected from political interference and how federal and state police services could effectively share intelligence across state boundaries.
“For too long, the debate has been framed as a choice between effective local policing and protection from political abuse. Nigeria needs both,” he said.
“We can bring policing closer to the people while building strong national standards, independent oversight and firm safeguards for every citizen. The time to fix policing in Nigeria is now, and we must see the work through.”
The former Speaker of the House of Representatives acknowledged that state police could bring security services closer to communities and improve responses to local security challenges.
He, however, said the proximity of state police to state governments created legitimate concerns about political interference and abuse of power.
He warned that the proposed system must contain strong safeguards against governors using state police against political opponents, protesters, journalists, minority communities and other citizens.
“But proximity does not guarantee justice. The concern that governors might use state police against political opponents, minority communities or dissenting voices is serious and must be answered in the design of the law,” Gbajabiamila said.
He added that state police services must operate within their lawful jurisdictions while remaining subject to the Constitution, human rights principles and the rule of law.
The proposed framework, he said, should also provide for proper recruitment, training, equipment and supervision of officers, alongside credible complaint and oversight mechanisms accessible to citizens.
Gbajabiamila said the broader objective was to establish a policing system that was “closer, faster and better informed by local conditions.”
He argued that officers familiar with a community’s language, geography and crime patterns would be better positioned to gather intelligence and respond to security threats.
At the same time, he insisted that policing reforms must protect citizens irrespective of their political affiliations.
“The law must protect citizens regardless of who holds office. It must protect opposition parties, peaceful protesters, journalists and minority communities,” he said.
“It must make unlawful orders easier to resist, misconduct easier to investigate and political interference harder to hide.”
On the constitutional requirements for state police, Gbajabiamila explained that Section 214 of the Constitution currently recognises only one police force, the Nigeria Police Force.
He said this meant that a constitutional amendment was required before states could establish their own police services.
According to him, both chambers of the National Assembly had approved proposed constitutional amendments providing for a Federal Police Service and State Police Services, but the amendment process had not yet been completed.
He said the National Assembly must complete the remaining stages before transmitting the proposed amendment to the 36 state Houses of Assembly.
At least 24 state legislatures must approve the amendment before it can proceed to the President for assent.
Gbajabiamila stressed that state police therefore remained a proposal until all the constitutional requirements were fulfilled.
Meanwhile, the Presidential Working Group is preparing the National Policing Bill alongside the constitutional amendment process.
He said the Bill would establish national standards covering recruitment, vetting, training, remuneration, pensions, equipment and professional conduct.
It would also provide rules on the use of force, complaints, discipline, independent oversight, intelligence-sharing and cooperation between federal and state police services.
Gbajabiamila clarified that even if the constitutional amendment and National Policing Bill become law, state police would not automatically be established across Nigeria.
He explained that each state interested in establishing its own police service would still need to enact an enabling law, establish the necessary institutions and provide funding.
Such a state would also have to satisfy national conditions for operation before its officers could commence policing duties.
“A state that is not ready to establish its own police service will continue to be served by the Nigeria Police Force,” he said.
