The constitutional framework for the establishment of state police is nearing completion, with a constitutional amendment expected soon following months of consultations among the Presidency, the National Assembly and security stakeholders.
Chief of Staff to the President, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, disclosed this on Thursday while briefing State House Correspondents after a high-level consultative meeting on state police held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
According to Gbajabiamila, deliberations on the proposed state police structure commenced several months ago on the directive of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and have since recorded significant progress.
He noted that while there is broad national consensus on the need for state police, the initiative requires careful constitutional and legal considerations before implementation.
“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. 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,” he said.
Gbajabiamila expressed optimism that the required constitutional amendment would be presented in the near future, after which the enabling legislation would follow.
“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 discussions have moved beyond the question of whether Nigeria should adopt state police, stressing that attention is now focused on developing the appropriate legal and institutional framework to ensure its effective operation.
He added that President Tinubu, a longstanding advocate of state police as part of efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s security architecture, would be briefed on the outcome of the consultations.
According to the Special Adviser to the President (Information and Communication) Bayo Onanuga, the meeting forms part of a series of engagements by the Federal Government aimed at developing a workable framework for state policing. The initiative is expected to strengthen internal security, improve local intelligence gathering and enhance the capacity of state governments to respond more effectively to emerging security challenges.
Among those who attended the meeting were Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Benjamin Kalu, Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Prince Lateef Fagbemi, and Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun, alongside other senior government officials.
The Presidency has consistently maintained that a decentralised policing structure is critical to addressing Nigeria’s evolving security challenges and improving the protection of lives and property nationwide.
