Tinubu Inaugurates Presidential Working Group on State Police Implementation

President Bola Tinubu has inaugurated the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill to develop the legal framework for the implementation of state police across Nigeria.

The inauguration, held on Tuesday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, was conducted on the President’s behalf by his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila.

The move follows the National Assembly’s passage of the Constitution Alteration (State Police) Bill, 2026, which proposes a dual policing structure comprising the Federal Police Service and 36 State Police Services. According to the President, while the constitutional amendment establishes the framework for state police, the National Policing Bill will provide the legal structure needed for its implementation, including provisions on policing standards, state readiness, accountability, human rights safeguards, fiscal conditions and federal-state coordination.

Tinubu said the working group was set up to produce an implementation-ready draft bill for transmission to the National Assembly immediately after the constitutional amendment process is completed. He noted that beginning work ahead of the amendment’s conclusion would prevent delays in rolling out the new policing system.

Gbajabiamila will chair the committee, with members including the Attorney-General of the Federation, the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), the National Security Adviser, the Inspector-General of Police and other key stakeholders.

Speaking on behalf of the NGF, Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun pledged governors’ support for the reform, describing state police as a response to Nigerians’ long-standing demand for community-based policing.

He said governors would work to ensure speedy passage of the constitutional amendment by their respective state assemblies and added that if each state recruits about 6,000 personnel, nearly 200,000 additional officers would be deployed to strengthen security nationwide.