President Bola Tinubu is set to take the next major step in Nigeria’s proposed policing reforms on September 3, when the draft national policing bill is scheduled to be presented to him for approval.

Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to the President, disclosed this on Monday while briefing journalists at the State House after a meeting of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill.

“The resulting executive bill package is scheduled for presentation to the President on the third of September. Subject to his approval, a national consultation on the completed draft will follow,” Gbajabiamila said.

However, he noted that the timeline had been adjusted so that the national consultation will now take place before the President’s final approval. “After which the text and supporting materials will be revised and prepared for formal transmission to the National Assembly,” he explained.

According to Gbajabiamila, the approved work programme is a seven-week, milestone-driven exercise running from July 27 to September 14, 2026, with legal drafting, policy research, data analysis and implementation modelling taking place simultaneously.

Comprehensive Reform Package

The Chief of Staff said the final package would go beyond a single bill and include schedules, an explanatory memorandum, a legal audit, a consequential amendments matrix, clause-by-clause analysis, a state readiness framework, a fiscal and implementation note, an implementation work plan, a validation report, a risk register and a controlled digital archive.

“These are the materials required to make the reform defensible, auditable and capable of implementation,” Gbajabiamila said.

He described the proposed reform as a landmark effort aimed at creating a policing system that responds more effectively to community realities while preserving national standards and constitutional safeguards.

“Now this is a monumental reform that Nigerians have debated over for many years. The question before the country is how we transform our policing architecture to become more responsive to the realities of our communities,” he said.

Gbajabiamila stated that the central task is to design a lawful, professional, and sustainable federal and state policing system that places greater capability closer to the people while maintaining national standards, national security, and the rights of every Nigerian.

Constitutional Status Still Pending

Gbajabiamila noted that although the Senate approved the State Police Constitutional Proposal on June 24, 2026, and the House of Representatives passed the Executive State Police Bill on July 23, 2026, the constitutional amendment has not yet taken effect because it still requires approval from state Houses of Assembly.

Until that process is completed and implementing laws are enacted, he stressed, the Nigeria Police Force remains the country’s only constitutionally recognised police institution.

He explained that while the constitutional amendment would provide the authority for federal and state policing, the National Policing Bill would address the operational framework covering standards, recruitment, training, funding, command structures, jurisdiction, complaints, firearms control, pensions, data systems and cooperation between federal and state police services.

Working Group and Technical Oversight

Gbajabiamila said President Tinubu constituted the Presidential Working Group to ensure Nigeria is fully prepared once the constitutional process is completed. The group’s assignment includes producing an implementation-ready National Policing Bill, reviewing the Police Act 2020, the Police Service Commission framework and other laws affected by the proposed reform.

The Working Group brings together representatives of the Presidency, the Federal Ministry of Justice, the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigerian Governors’ Forum and the Nigerian Bar Association, while a multidisciplinary policy advisory committee chaired by Justice Muhammad Liman will provide technical oversight.

Balancing Local Policing with National Safeguards

Gbajabiamila stressed that the proposed framework seeks to balance greater local policing powers with strong national safeguards.

“State police cannot mean 36 state militias, just as national standards cannot become a disguised method of re-centralising day-to-day state policing,” he said.

He emphasised that states must have a legitimate policy voice on public safety, but no political officeholder should be able to direct the arrest of an opponent, the suppression of lawful political activity or the selective enforcement of the law. “Federal intervention must remain exceptional, evidence-based, proportionate, time-limited and reviewable,” he added.

“Officers must answer to the Constitution and the law, not to personnel or partisan instruction,” Gbajabiamila said.

He added that operational commencement must depend on a state’s readiness, including credible arrangements for recruitment, vetting, training, pay, pensions, equipment, complaints mechanisms, independent oversight and financial sustainability.

Open Call for Public Input

Gbajabiamila announced an open call for memoranda, position papers and practical proposals from Nigerians at home and abroad, saying submissions would help shape the legislative proposals before the national consultation on the completed draft.

Acknowledging Public Concerns

Acknowledging public concerns over the proposed reform, the Chief of Staff said fears about political interference, unequal state capacity, poor funding and duplication of commands were legitimate and underscored the need for a comprehensive implementation framework.

“We recognise the concerns that accompany this reform, the fear of political abuse, unequal state capacity, duplication of commands, poor funding, ethnic or sectional capture and the possibility that new institutions could reproduce old failures,” he said.

“Those concerns are legitimate. They are precisely why the constitutional amendment cannot be treated as self-executing and why the national policing bill must be comprehensive, and safeguards are not obstacles to state police. They are what make state police credible, lawful and sustainable,” Gbajabiamila added.

He cautioned that the reform would not by itself solve every security problem in Nigeria. “No law can substitute for good leadership, competent officers, reliable intelligence, adequate resources, professional discipline and public trust,” he said.

“But Nigeria has an opportunity to build a policing system better matched to the scale and diversity of the country — strong federal police service for federal, interstate and national security responsibilities, and capable state police services for state and local responsibilities and common standards that protect the republic and its citizens,” he added.

Gbajabiamila said President Tinubu is determined to ensure the process produces a credible and workable dual policing system, adding that the Working Group remains committed to delivering on its mandate.

“For us on the working group, Mr. President’s direction is clear. We have accepted the responsibility, and we will achieve our mandate,” Gbajabiamila stated.

He thanked Nigerians and urged citizens to participate in the process to ensure the design and implementation of the proposed dual policing structure is inclusive, collaborative and serves the common good. ■