The Federal Government has commenced the development of the legal and operational framework required to establish state police in Nigeria.
Naijaonpoint reports that it has also introduced a seven-week programme aimed at producing a comprehensive National Policing Bill to guide the country’s transition to a dual federal and state policing structure.
The Chairman of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill and Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, disclosed this while addressing journalists in Abuja on Monday.
Gbajabiamila said the programme would be driven by specific milestones to ensure that the proposed legislation clearly defined the structure, powers and operations of federal and state police institutions.
The presidential aide clarified that no state police service was currently operating in the country despite the progress recorded by the National Assembly on the proposed constitutional amendment.
According to him, the Nigeria Police Force remains the only policing institution recognised by the Constitution until the amendment process is completed.
“There is no operational state police service anywhere in Nigeria today. The Nigerian Police Force remains the constitutionally recognised police institution,” he said.
Gbajabiamila explained that the constitutional amendment would only provide the legal authority and broad structure for state policing, adding that separate legislation was required to establish a complete operational framework.
“The constitutional amendment creates the authority and broad architecture for federal and state policing, but it does not by itself provide the complete operating framework,” he stated.
National Assembly Advances Amendment
Gbajabiamila said the Senate approved the constitutional proposal on June 24, 2026, while the House of Representatives passed the Executive State Police Bill on July 23, 2026.
He, however, noted that the amendment had yet to take effect because it must first secure the constitutionally required approval of state Houses of Assembly.
The proposal would also require implementing legislation outlining the responsibilities, command structure, financing, oversight and accountability mechanisms for the proposed state police services.
According to him, the National Policing Bill being developed by the working group would provide the detailed legal framework needed to operate the dual policing system after the constitutional amendment is concluded.
The Chief of Staff said the seven-week process would focus on producing a comprehensive bill capable of addressing potential operational and constitutional challenges arising from the establishment of state police.
The framework is expected to clarify the relationship between federal and state police authorities and provide safeguards against abuse, political interference and overlapping responsibilities.
Gbajabiamila maintained that the ongoing process was necessary to ensure that the proposed policing arrangement was properly structured before implementation.
