State Police Amendment Nears After Months Of Consultations
Dr. Nafisat Makinde, Abuja
A constitutional amendment to pave the way for the establishment of state police is expected soon following months of consultations among the Presidency, the National Assembly and security authorities.
The development was disclosed in a statement issued by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, following a consultative meeting on state police convened by the Presidency at the State House, Abuja.
According to the statement, Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, said deliberations on the proposed state police framework began three to four months ago on the directive of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and have advanced significantly.
Gbajabiamila said the process involves constitutional and legal considerations and cannot be implemented hastily. He noted that discussions have now progressed to the stage of considering the constitutional amendments required to establish state police.
“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,” he said.
He added that while attention is currently focused on the constitutional amendment, enabling legislation would follow afterward to provide the legal basis for the operation of state police.
According to Gbajabiamila, discussions have largely moved beyond whether state police should be established to developing the legal and institutional framework required for its operation.
He said President Tinubu, who has consistently 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. The initiative is aimed at strengthening internal security, improving local intelligence gathering and enhancing the capacity of sub-national governments to respond to emerging security challenges across the country.
Tinubu has maintained in recent months that state police is a necessary response to Nigeria’s evolving security challenges, arguing that a decentralised policing structure would strengthen grassroots security, improve intelligence gathering and enhance the protection of lives and property.
Those who attended the meeting included Deputy President of the Senate Jibrin Barau, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Benjamin Kalu, Attorney-General and Minister of Justice Lateef Fagbemi, Inspector-General of Police Tunji Disu and other senior government officials.