The Presidency has announced significant progress towards the establishment of state police in Nigeria, revealing that a constitutional amendment to pave the way for decentralized policing is expected soon.
The development follows months of consultations involving the Executive, the National Assembly, and top security stakeholders aimed at creating a legal framework for state policing across the country.
Speaking to State House Correspondents after a high-level consultative meeting at the Presidential Villa on Thursday night, the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, said discussions on the proposed state police structure have gained considerable traction.
According to him, the process requires extensive constitutional and legal work, stressing that the creation of state police cannot be implemented hastily.
“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,” Gbajabiamila said.
He added that the immediate focus is on securing the necessary constitutional amendment, after which enabling legislation would be introduced to define the operational structure of state police.
Gbajabiamila noted that national discussions have largely moved beyond the question of whether state police should exist, with attention now centered on designing an effective legal and institutional framework for its implementation.
The Chief of Staff disclosed that a comprehensive report from the meeting would be submitted to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for further consideration.
The meeting was attended by several senior government officials, including Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Benjamin Kalu, Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Lateef Fagbemi, and Inspector-General of Police Tunji Disu.
The renewed push for state police comes amid growing concerns over insecurity nationwide and increasing calls by state governments for greater control over local security operations.
