TDThe Federal Government has announced significant progress toward the establishment of state police across Nigeria, revealing that a constitutional amendment to pave the way for the new policing structure is nearing completion.
The Chief of Staff to the President, 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 in Abuja.
According to Gbajabiamila, discussions on the framework for state police began several months ago following a directive from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
He said extensive consultations involving the Presidency, the National Assembly, security agencies, and legal experts have advanced the initiative to the constitutional amendment stage.
“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,” Gbajabiamila said.
“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.
“Hopefully, the amendment will come shortly, and the details of the amendment will come after that.”
He explained that the immediate focus is on amending relevant sections of the Constitution, after which enabling legislation would be introduced to operationalize the new policing system.
“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 noted that there is now broad consensus across the country on the need for state police.
He stressed that discussions have shifted from whether the system should be adopted to how it should be structured and regulated.
He further disclosed that President Tinubu would receive a comprehensive report on the outcome of the consultations as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s security architecture.
The Presidency has consistently argued that state police is necessary to address the country’s evolving security challenges, improve intelligence gathering at the grassroots level, and enhance the ability of state governments to respond swiftly to local security threats.
Thursday’s meeting formed part of a series of consultations being spearheaded by the Federal Government to develop a workable legal and institutional framework for decentralized policing.
Among those in attendance were the Deputy President of the Senate, Jibrin Barau; the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu; the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi; and the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, alongside other senior government officials.
If implemented, state police would represent one of the most significant reforms to Nigeria’s security structure since the return to democratic rule, potentially granting state governments greater responsibility for maintaining law and order within their jurisdictions.
