The Nigerian government has officially launched a comprehensive seven-week roadmap to finalize the National Policing Bill, a landmark legislative effort aimed at establishing a dualpolicing framework across the country.
The Presidential Working Group, led by Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila, convened at the State House in Abuja on Monday to outline the strategic timeline and invite public participation in shaping the future of law enforcement in Nigeria.
This initiative comes on the heels of significant legislative momentum. In recent weeks, both chambers of the National Assembly overwhelmingly passed a constitutional amendment bill to decentralize policing, marking a decisive shift in Nigeria’s security
architecture.
The House of Representatives passed the executive-backed bill in late July,
rescinding earlier proposals to adopt the President’s comprehensive framework. The newly proposed National Policing Bill is designed to operationalize this constitutional shift.
According to the Working Group, the framework will set rigorous national minimum standards for any state seeking to establish its own police force.
These standards encompass credible arrangements for recruitment, vetting, training, pay, pensions, equipment, custody, complaints, discipline, data management, firearms control, independent oversight, and financial sustainability.
“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 emphasized during the announcement.
To ensure broad-based input, the government has opened a two-week window for citizens, civil society organizations, security agencies, state and local governments, and academia to submit memoranda and policy proposals.
These submissions will be integrated into the draft bill, which is scheduled for presentation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on September 3, 2026, ahead of a final national consultation and subsequent submission to the National Assembly.
The reforms have not been without controversy. Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, representing the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, acknowledged the historic nature of the initiative but addressed growing concerns regarding federal overreach.
He clarified that the legislation is strictly intended to provide an operational framework and guarantee standards, rather than centralize control over state-level law enforcement.
Further addressing the concerns of political weaponization, the Attorney- General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, stressed that the bill is engineered to secure lives and property without allowing state police to become instruments of political persecution.
He also reassured the public that the Federal Police will maintain its presence and operations in any state that is not immediately ready or certified to launch its own police service, ensuring continuous security coverage nationwide.
The Working Group’s composition reflects a diverse array of expertise, including the current Inspector General of Police, Tunji Disu, who took over the reins of the force following the tenure of his predecessor, Kayode Egbetokun, who had previously expressed reservations about the maturity of the country for state policing.
Other key figures include the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Afam Osigwe, and Brigadier General Olutayo
Muyiwa Adesuyi, representing the National Security Adviser.
As the seven-week countdown begins, culminating on September 14, 2026, the focus shifts to how effectively these varied stakeholders can synthesize their inputs into a workable, secure, and accountable dual-policing model for Africa’s most populous nation.