ABUJA — The Presidency will close public submissions on Nigeria’s proposed National Policing Bill at 5pm on Thursday, August 13, 2026, as the Federal Government seeks Nigerians’ views on safeguards for the planned introduction of state police.
Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu and Chairman of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, Femi Gbajabiamila, announced the deadline on Wednesday, urging citizens and stakeholders to submit their recommendations before the consultation window shuts.
The exercise is focused not only on whether Nigeria should decentralise policing but also on how a state police system can operate without becoming a tool for political intimidation or abuse.
Gbajabiamila said submissions would help address some of the most contentious issues surrounding the proposed reform, including political interference, police misconduct, oversight, serious disciplinary offences and intelligence-sharing between federal and state police services.
“For too long, the debate has been framed as a choice between effective local policing and protection from political abuse. Nigeria needs both,” he said.
The former Speaker of the House of Representatives acknowledged that state police could bring law enforcement closer to communities, allowing officers familiar with local languages, geography and crime patterns to respond more quickly and gather better intelligence.
But he warned that proximity to state governments could also create opportunities for abuse.
“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 said.
The proposed framework is expected to provide national standards covering recruitment, vetting, training, remuneration, pensions, equipment and professional conduct. It is also expected to establish rules governing the use of force, complaints, discipline, independent oversight and cooperation between federal and state police services.
Gbajabiamila said the law must make it possible for police officers to resist unlawful orders and for misconduct to be investigated without political interference.
“The law must protect citizens regardless of who holds office. It must protect opposition parties, peaceful protesters, journalists and minority communities,” he said.
Constitutional hurdle remains
The consultation is taking place alongside a constitutional amendment process that is central to the proposed reform.
Section 214 of the 1999 Constitution currently provides for the Nigeria Police Force, meaning a constitutional amendment is required before states can establish their own police services.
The National Assembly advanced the constitutional proposal in June, with the measure moving towards consideration by the 36 state Houses of Assembly. At least 24 state legislatures must approve a constitutional alteration before it can proceed to the President for assent.
This means state police is not yet operational in Nigeria. The constitutional amendment and accompanying legislation must clear the remaining legal and legislative hurdles.
Gbajabiamila also stressed that even if the constitutional amendment and National Policing Bill become law, state police would not automatically be established in every state.
Each state would have to pass its own enabling legislation, establish the necessary institutions and provide funding. It would also have to meet nationally prescribed conditions before its officers could begin policing.
States that choose not to establish their own police services would continue to rely on the Nigeria Police Force.
The consultation therefore comes at a critical point in one of Nigeria’s most consequential security reforms. Supporters argue that decentralised policing could improve intelligence gathering and local response to kidnapping, banditry, communal violence and other crimes.
Critics, however, have raised concerns about funding, political control, human-rights safeguards and the capacity of states to maintain professional police institutions.
The Presidency is now urging Nigerians to have their say before the 5pm deadline, with the submissions expected to inform the drafting of the National Policing Bill before it proceeds through the formal legislative process.
