Nigeria Moves Toward State Police Reform With New National Policing Bill

August 5, 2026
By Mintesinot Nigussie

Nigeria has begun work on a new legal framework that could establish state police services across the country, launching a public consultation process on a proposed National Policing Bill aimed at reshaping the country's security structure. The Presidential Working Group on the proposed legislation has invited citizens, security experts, civil society organisations, state governments and other stakeholders to submit policy proposals and memoranda as part of efforts to develop a framework for state-level policing.

Femi Gbajabiamila, chief of staff to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and chairman of the working group, said the bill would establish national minimum standards for state police operations, define readiness requirements for states and create mechanisms for oversight, funding and accountability. The proposed legislation is expected to clarify the responsibilities of federal and state security institutions while setting requirements for recruitment, training, equipment, firearms management, complaints handling and disciplinary procedures.

The working group is reviewing existing laws, including the Police Act 2020, the Police Service Commission framework and police regulations, as part of the drafting process. The consultation period will run for two weeks, after which submissions will be reviewed and incorporated into a draft executive bill. The working group plans to present the draft legislation to President Tinubu on September 3, 2026, before broader national consultations and final submission to the National Assembly.

Gbajabiamila said states seeking to establish their own police services would need to demonstrate credible systems for recruitment, vetting, training, salaries, pensions, equipment, custody management, data systems, firearms control and independent oversight. "A proposed State Police Service must demonstrate that it has credible arrangements for recruitment, vetting, training, pay, pensions, equipment, custody, complaints, discipline, data, firearms control, independent oversight and financial sustainability before it begins policing," he said.

Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun, representing the Nigeria Governors' Forum, described state police as a major institutional reform and said the proposal was not intended to give the federal government control over state police operations. Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Lateef Fagbemi said the legislation would aim to improve public safety while preventing state police structures from being used for political persecution. He added that states that are not immediately prepared to establish their own police services would continue relying on the federal police until they meet the required standards. The proposed reform follows years of debate in Nigeria over whether the country's centralised policing model is sufficient to address insecurity challenges across its 36 states and federal capital territory.

Source: FSX Business News