The Presidency has announced that public submissions on the proposed National Policing Bill will close at 5 pm on Thursday, August 13, 2026.
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The Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu and Chairman of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, Femi Gbajabiamila, urged Nigerians to submit their views before the deadline.
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Gbajabiamila said the consultation was intended to gather the experiences and professional knowledge of Nigerians to strengthen the proposed legislation.
He said public contributions would help address key concerns surrounding political interference, police misconduct, oversight and intelligence sharing between federal and state police services.
The presidential working group chairman stressed that the consultation would not take over the constitutional responsibilities of the National Assembly. He explained that lawmakers would still have the authority to examine, amend, reject or pass the proposed legislation after it is transmitted to them.
Gbajabiamila urged Nigerians to focus their submissions on how state police can be protected from political control, who should handle investigations involving serious misconduct and how federal and state police services can effectively share intelligence across state borders.
He said the country needed a policing system that could bring law enforcement closer to communities while maintaining strong national standards and safeguards for citizens.
The former Speaker of the House of Representatives acknowledged concerns that governors could misuse state police against political opponents, protesters, journalists, minority groups and other citizens.
He said these concerns must be addressed through the design of the proposed law and the establishment of effective oversight mechanisms.
According to him, state police officers would need to operate within the limits of the Constitution, human rights protections and the rule of law.
He also said recruitment, training, equipment and supervision would have to meet proper standards, while citizens should have access to credible channels for reporting misconduct and seeking redress.
Gbajabiamila argued that officers with knowledge of the language, geography and security conditions of their communities could respond more effectively to local threats and gather better intelligence.
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He, however, said greater proximity to communities must not come at the expense of citizens’ rights.
The proposed legislation, he explained, is expected to provide safeguards for opposition politicians, peaceful protesters, journalists and minority communities, while making it easier to investigate misconduct and prevent unlawful political interference.
Gbajabiamila also explained that the establishment of state police requires constitutional changes because Section 214 of the Constitution currently provides for the Nigeria Police Force as the country’s police service.
He said both chambers of the National Assembly had approved proposed constitutional amendments providing for Federal Police Services and State Police Services.
The amendment process, however, has not been completed. According to him, the proposal must still be transmitted to the state Houses of Assembly, where it requires approval by at least 24 of the 36 states before proceeding to the President for assent.
He therefore stressed that the state police remains a proposal until all constitutional requirements are fulfilled.
Meanwhile, the Presidential Working Group is preparing the National Policing Bill alongside the constitutional amendment process.
The proposed legislation is expected to provide national standards covering recruitment, vetting, training, remuneration, pensions, equipment and professional conduct.
It would also establish rules on the use of force, complaints, disciplinary procedures, independent oversight, intelligence sharing and cooperation between federal and state police services.
Gbajabiamila clarified that even if the constitutional amendment and National Policing Bill become law, state police would not automatically be established across all 36 states.
Each state that wishes to create its own police service would have to enact enabling legislation, establish the required institutions and provide funding. It would also have to meet national conditions before its officers could commence operations.
States that choose not to establish their own police services would continue to receive policing services from the Nigeria Police Force.
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