State Police Constitutional Framework Near Completion, Presidency Says

The Presidency on Thursday announced that significant progress has been made towards the establishment of state police in Nigeria, with a constitutional amendment expected to be introduced soon following months of consultations among the Executive, the National Assembly and security agencies.

Chief of Staff to the President, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents after a consultative meeting on state police held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

According to Gbajabiamila, discussions on the proposed state police framework commenced several months ago on the directive of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and have since advanced considerably.

He noted that the creation of state police involves complex constitutional and legal considerations, making it a process that requires careful planning and broad stakeholder engagement.

“We started deliberations in the last three or four months on how to go about the establishment of state police as directed by Mr President,” he said.

“Establishing state police is not something that you do with the snap of the fingers. There is a lot involved in terms of constitution and legalities, and thank God we have now gained a lot of traction.

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“Hopefully, the amendment will come shortly, and the details of the amendment will come after that.”

Gbajabiamila explained that discussions have now reached the stage of considering the necessary constitutional amendments, while the enabling legislation would be developed subsequently.

“Right now, what we are looking at is the constitutional amendment itself, and then the enabling law would follow thereafter. That is what we have been deliberating on in the last couple of hours,” he added.

The Chief of Staff said there is now broad national consensus on the need for state police, stressing that the conversation has moved beyond whether it should be established to determining the most effective legal and institutional framework for its operation.

He added that President Tinubu, who has consistently advocated the establishment of state police as part of efforts to strengthen the nation’s security architecture, would be briefed on the outcome of the consultations.

The meeting forms part of ongoing engagements by the Federal Government aimed at developing a workable framework for state policing, a reform expected to improve local intelligence gathering, strengthen internal security and enhance the ability of state governments to respond to emerging security threats.

President Tinubu has repeatedly argued that a decentralised policing system is necessary to address Nigeria’s evolving security challenges and improve the protection of lives and property across the country.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau; Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu; Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi; and Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, among other senior government officials.