Tinubu Inaugurates Presidential Panel to Draft State Police Law

President Bola Tinubu has inaugurated a seven-man Presidential Working Group, chaired by former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, to draft legislation for the nationwide implementation of state police.

The panel is expected to work with state governors, security agencies and legal experts to develop a framework that would allow states to establish their own police structures, a longstanding demand from governors and security analysts who argue that community-level policing would better address Nigeria’s decentralised security challenges.

The push for state police has gained renewed momentum in recent months amid a string of mass kidnappings and banditry attacks across several states, with critics of the current centralised policing structure arguing that state police units would improve response times and local intelligence gathering.

Some state assemblies, including Lagos, have already signalled support for the state police concept, with Lagos lawmakers separately advancing legislation on related security matters this week.

The Presidential Working Group is expected to submit its recommendations within a specified timeframe, after which the Federal Government will determine the legislative pathway for implementation, including any necessary constitutional amendments.

Officials say the initiative reflects growing consensus across the political spectrum that Nigeria’s single centralised police force is stretched too thin to adequately secure a country of more than 200 million people.