The Federal Government has moved closer to the establishment of state police, with the Presidency disclosing that a constitutional amendment framework is nearing completion after months of consultations among the Executive, National Assembly and key security agencies.
Chief of Staff to the President, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, made the disclosure on Thursday after a high-level consultative meeting on state police convened by the Presidency at the State House in Abuja.
Gbajabiamila said significant progress had been made on the proposed framework, adding that discussions initiated by President Bola Tinubu several months ago had now advanced to the stage where constitutional amendments are being finalized ahead of the enabling legislation.
According to him, the establishment of state police remains one of the administration’s key security reforms aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s internal security architecture and improving the capacity of states to tackle local security challenges.
“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,” Gbajabiamila said.
“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. Hopefully, the amendment will come shortly.”
He explained that current efforts are focused on the constitutional amendment process, which would provide the legal foundation for state police, while the enabling law would be developed thereafter.
The Chief of Staff noted that national conversations have largely shifted from whether Nigeria should have state police to how best to structure and regulate the system to ensure effectiveness, accountability and coordination with federal security agencies.
He said President Tinubu would receive a comprehensive report on the outcome of the consultations as the administration intensifies efforts to implement one of its most significant security reforms.
The move comes amid growing calls for a decentralized policing system capable of responding more effectively to local security threats, including banditry, kidnapping, terrorism and communal conflicts.
The Presidency believes that state police will improve grassroots intelligence gathering, enhance rapid response capabilities and strengthen the protection of lives and property across the country.
President Tinubu has consistently advocated the creation of state police, arguing that Nigeria’s evolving security challenges require a more localized and flexible policing structure capable of complementing the efforts of federal law enforcement agencies.
Thursday’s meeting was attended by top government officials, including the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Jibrin Barau; Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu; Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi; and the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, among others.
The latest development signals what could be a major milestone in Nigeria’s long-running debate over police reform and the devolution of security responsibilities to sub-national governments.