The Presidency has announced that significant progress has been made toward the establishment of state police in Nigeria, with a constitutional amendment expected soon following months of consultations among key stakeholders.
The Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, disclosed this on Thursday while briefing State House correspondents after a consultative meeting on state police held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
According to Gbajabiamila, discussions on the proposed state police framework commenced several months ago on the directive of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and have since recorded substantial progress.
He noted that the creation of state police involves complex constitutional and legal processes that require careful consideration.
“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 added that the government is currently focused on securing the necessary constitutional amendments, after which enabling legislation would be introduced.
“Hopefully, the amendment will come shortly, and the details of the amendment will come after that.
Right now, what we are looking at is the constitutional amendment itself, and then the enabling law would follow thereafter,” he stated.
The Chief of Staff said there is now broad consensus across the country on the need for state police, stressing that the debate has shifted from whether it should be established to how it should be structured and regulated.
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He further revealed that President Tinubu would be presented with a comprehensive report on the outcome of the consultations.
The meeting formed part of ongoing efforts by the Federal Government to develop a workable framework for state policing, an initiative aimed at strengthening internal security, improving intelligence gathering at the grassroots level and enhancing the ability of state governments to tackle emerging security challenges.
President Tinubu has repeatedly advocated the creation of state police, arguing that a decentralised policing system would improve the protection of lives and property while boosting local security operations across the country.
Among those who attended the meeting were the Deputy President of the Senate, Jibrin Barau; the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu; the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi; and the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, alongside other senior government officials.