From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Federal Government has taken another step towards establishing state police with the submission of 30 draft bills to the Federal Ministry of Justice for legal review and validation ahead of their presentation to President Bola Tinubu and subsequent consideration by the National Assembly.
The proposed legislation comprises the National Policing Bill, 2026, and 29 consequential amendment bills designed to provide the legal framework for a dual policing structure under which the Federal Police Service and State Police Services would operate within Nigeria’s constitutional framework.
Chief of Staff to the President and Chairman of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, Femi Gbajabiamila, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday, saying the bills were formally submitted to the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice on Monday, October 19.
He said the submission marked the completion of the working group’s drafting assignment and the commencement of the legal validation process to ensure that the proposed legislation complied with established legislative drafting standards and existing laws.
According to Gbajabiamila, the Ministry of Justice has until Friday, October 30, to complete the review and return the validated bills to the working group for final consideration. The bills will subsequently be presented to President Tinubu, bringing the working group’s assignment to a close and paving the way for further legislative action.
“The Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill has completed the drafting stage of its assignment and has formally submitted the draft National Policing Bill (2026), together with twenty-nine (29) consequential amendment bills, to the Federal Ministry of Justice for legislative drafting review and validation,” Gbajabiamila said.
He explained that the review was necessary to ensure that the proposed legislation adhered to established drafting conventions and did not conflict with existing statutes.
The development marks a significant step in Nigeria’s longstanding debate over the decentralisation of policing, particularly amid growing concerns about insecurity and the capacity of the existing centralised policing structure to address security challenges across the country.
Under the proposed arrangement, federal and state police services would operate within a constitutionally recognised framework, representing a major departure from the current system, in which policing is principally controlled by the Federal Government.
Gbajabiamila said the working group remained committed to producing a comprehensive legislative framework to support the proposed restructuring of the country’s policing system.
He added that the group would maintain a rigorous and transparent process to ensure that the bills underwent the necessary scrutiny before their submission to the President.
The Chief of Staff, however, acknowledged that the drafting exercise was proceeding alongside the constitutional amendment process, which remains critical to the establishment of state police.
He noted that the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026, was undergoing consideration by State Houses of Assembly.
According to the statement, the state legislative process must be completed before the constitutional amendment can advance to its next stage.
This means that despite the completion of the working group’s drafting assignment, the proposed policing structure cannot take effect until the necessary constitutional and legislative requirements have been fulfilled.
Nevertheless, the submission of the 30 bills brings the state police initiative closer to formal consideration by the Federal Government and the National Assembly, with the October 30 deadline for legal validation emerging as the next major milestone in the process.