Significant progress has been made towards establishing state police in Nigeria, with a constitutional amendment expected soon, the Nigerian presidency has announced.
This follows months of consultations among the Executive, the National Assembly, and top security authorities.
Recall that following the recent mass abduction of pupils and teachers in Oyo State, Governor Seyi Makinde accused the federal government of hindering the creation of sub-national policing structures.
However, briefing State House Correspondents after a high-level consultative meeting at the State House on Thursday, the Chief of Staff to the President, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, noted that deliberations on the framework have gained considerable traction. He emphasized, however, that establishing decentralized policing requires careful legal consideration and cannot be rushed.
He said, “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. Hopefully, the amendment will come shortly, and the details of the amendment will come after that.
“Right now, what we are looking at is the constitutional amendment itself, and then the enabling law would follow thereafter. That is what we have been deliberating on in the last couple of hours.”
Gbajabiamila highlighted that broad national consensus has shifted the debate away from whether state police should exist, focusing instead on creating the appropriate legal and institutional framework for its operation.
A comprehensive report on the meeting will be delivered to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The meeting was attended by key government figures, including the Deputy President of the Senate, Jibrin Barau; the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu; the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi; and the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu.