The Presidency has set 5 pm on Thursday, August 13, 2026, as the deadline for Nigerians to submit views on the proposed National Policing Bill, particularly the plan to establish state police services.
The Chief of Staff to the President and Chairman of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, Femi Gbajabiamila, announced the deadline on Wednesday, saying the consultation was intended to draw from the experiences and professional knowledge of Nigerians before the legislation is finalised.
According to him, public input would help the working group address major concerns surrounding the proposed policing structure, including political interference, police misconduct, oversight and intelligence-sharing between federal and state police formations.
Gbajabiamila stressed that the consultation was not a substitute for the constitutional role of the National Assembly, which would have the authority to examine, amend, reject or pass the Bill once it is formally transmitted.
He called on Nigerians to make submissions on key issues, including measures to shield police institutions from political influence, the appropriate body to investigate serious misconduct and mechanisms for intelligence-sharing between federal and state police services across state lines.
He said, “For too long, the debate has been framed as a choice between effective local policing and protection from political abuse. Nigeria needs both.
“We can bring policing closer to the people while building strong national standards, independent oversight and firm safeguards for every citizen. The time to fix policing in Nigeria is now, and we must see the work through.”
The former Speaker of the House of Representatives also warned that any state policing framework must include safeguards against the possible misuse of police powers by governors against political opponents, protesters, journalists, minority groups and other citizens.
Gbajabiamila acknowledged that state police could improve community policing and enable faster responses to local security threats.
However, he noted that placing such forces closer to state authorities could also create opportunities for political interference and abuse.
He said, “But proximity does not guarantee justice. The concern that governors might use state police against political opponents, minority communities or dissenting voices is serious and must be answered in the design of the law.”
He added that state police would have to operate within their legally defined jurisdictions while remaining bound by the Constitution, human rights obligations and the rule of law.
The proposed system, he explained, would also require proper recruitment, training, equipment and supervision of officers, alongside reliable channels through which citizens could lodge complaints and seek independent oversight.
Gbajabiamila said the broader objective was to develop a policing structure that was “closer, faster and better informed by local conditions”, arguing that officers who understand a community’s language, geography and crime patterns would be better equipped to obtain intelligence and tackle security challenges.
He nevertheless maintained that the reforms must provide equal protection for citizens regardless of their political allegiance.
“The law must protect citizens regardless of who holds office. It must protect opposition parties, peaceful protesters, journalists and minority communities.
“It must make unlawful orders easier to resist, misconduct easier to investigate and political interference harder to hide,” he said.
On the constitutional requirement for state police, Gbajabiamila said Section 214 of the Constitution currently recognises only one police force, the Nigeria Police Force.
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He therefore said a constitutional amendment would be required before states could establish their own police services.
He disclosed that both chambers of the National Assembly had already approved proposed constitutional amendments seeking to create a Federal Police Service and State Police Services, although the amendment process was yet to be completed.
He explained that the National Assembly would have to conclude the outstanding stages before the proposal could be forwarded to the state Houses of Assembly.
At least 24 of the 36 state legislatures must approve the amendment before it can be transmitted to the President for assent.
Until that process is concluded, he stressed, state police remains only a proposal.
Meanwhile, Gbajabiamila said the Presidential Working Group was developing the National Policing Bill alongside the ongoing constitutional amendment process.
He said the proposed legislation would establish nationwide standards covering recruitment, vetting, training, salaries, pensions, equipment and professional conduct.
It would also provide rules governing the use of force, complaints, disciplinary procedures, independent oversight, intelligence-sharing and collaboration 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 in every part of the country.
“Each state that chooses to establish a service will still need its own enabling law, institutions and funding. It must also meet the national conditions for operation before its officers can begin policing,” he said.
He added that states that decide against establishing their own police services, or are not prepared to do so, would continue to receive policing services from the Nigeria Police Force.