President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday moved a step closer to decentralised law enforcement in the country with the inauguration of a Presidential Working Group tasked with drafting the National Policing Bill.
The proposed legislation is expected to provide the formal statutory framework for the smooth implementation of state police structures across the 36 states of the federation.
The development followed the National Assembly’s recent consideration of the Constitution Alteration (State Police) Bill, 2026, which seeks to establish a dual policing system comprising the Federal Police Service and state police forces.
Tinubu, who was represented at the inauguration by his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, explained that while constitutional amendments provide the legal foundation for state policing, a separate National Policing Bill is urgently required to operationalise the structure.
Femi Gbajabiamila quoted the President as saying, “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.
“We must not wait until the constitutional process is concluded before beginning this important assignment. The working group has been constituted to produce a technically robust, implementation-ready draft National Policing Bill for transmission to the National Assembly.”
The Gbajabiamila-led working group includes the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN; the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun; the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Afam Osigwe, SAN; and leadership from the Nigeria Governors’ Forum.
According to the panel, the draft bill will define rigid national minimum policing standards, state readiness certifications, human rights safeguards, accountability mechanisms, and sustainable funding frameworks.
Reacting to the initiative, the Chairman of the NGF Committee on State Police and Governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, pledged the total support of the 36 state executives.
Abiodun noted that the initiative validates the operational success of existing regional security networks like the South-West’s Amotekun, adding that state police services could inject massive manpower into the country’s overstretched security apparatus.
“If each state deploys about 6,000 personnel, we will add nearly 200,000 officers to complement the existing federal police,” Abiodun stated.
However, the President of the NBA, Afam Osigwe, SAN, while reiterating the association’s backing for the decentralization of the police force, strongly warned against giving state governors absolute power without statutory checks.
Osigwe stated, “Nigeria can hardly be effectively policed by one national police. We fully support the constitutional amendment providing for state police. However, we must ensure we do not create a monster. The right legal framework must guarantee accountability and prevent oppression.”
The AGF, Lateef Fagbemi, also described the presidential intervention as a timely response to the current wave of banditry, kidnapping, and communal conflicts across the country, noting that “we are in a critical moment security-wise, and all hands must be on deck.”
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