FG Announces Seven-Week Roadmap for National Policing Bill, Opens Call for Public Input

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, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, announced this on Monday after the 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 a modern policing system.

According to Gbajabiamila, 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 will 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 said.

The Working Group has adopted a seven-week work programme running from July 27 to September 14, 2026.

The call for memoranda will run for two weeks. Citizens, professionals, civil society, security agencies, state and local governments, academics, and other stakeholders are invited 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 draft Executive Bill is scheduled for presentation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on September 3, 2026, with national consultations to follow before final approval.

The new National Policing Bill will also set out requirements for recruitment, training, oversight, funding, and transition arrangements to ensure credible, effective, and accountable policing nationwide.

The representative of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and Governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, described state policing as a landmark reform and one of the defining initiatives of President Tinubu’s administration.

Responding to concerns about federal overreach, he clarified that there is no federal attempt to control state police, adding that the proposed legislation is intended to provide an operational framework rather than centralise control.

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.

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.

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.