The Presidency on Thursday said significant progress has been made towards the establishment of state police, with constitutional amendments required for its implementation expected soon.
Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, disclosed this after a consultative meeting on state police convened by the Presidency at the State House, Abuja.
According to him, discussions on the proposed state police framework began several months ago following a directive by President Bola Tinubu and have now advanced to the stage of considering the necessary constitutional amendments.
A statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, quoted Gbajabiamila as saying the process required careful consideration of constitutional and legal issues and could not be rushed.
“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,” he said.
The Chief of Staff explained that attention is currently focused on constitutional amendments, while enabling legislation would follow afterwards.
“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,” he added.
KAKAKI OKEOGUN NEWS reports that the push for state police gained momentum in the events of recent persistent security challenges, including banditry, insurgency and kidnapping.
Critics of the current centralised policing system argue that the Nigeria Police Force is overstretched, under-resourced, and often disconnected from local realities.
Some states have already established complementary security networks, such as Amotekun in the South-West, and similar outfits elsewhere, though these operate within legal grey areas without full constitutional backing.
Gbajabiamila noted that there was growing national consensus on the need for state police, saying discussions had moved beyond whether the initiative should be adopted to how the appropriate legal and institutional framework should be developed.
He said Tinubu, who has repeatedly advocated state police as part of efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s security architecture, would receive a comprehensive report on the outcome of the meeting.
The meeting formed part of ongoing consultations by the Federal Government to develop a workable framework for state police, an initiative aimed at strengthening internal security, improving local intelligence gathering and enhancing the capacity of sub-national governments to tackle emerging security challenges.
Among those who attended the meeting were Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Benjamin Kalu, Inspector-General of Police Tunji Disu, Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), and other senior government officials.
The Federal Government has argued that a decentralised policing structure would strengthen grassroots security, improve intelligence gathering and enhance the protection of lives and property across the country.
