By Ayo Ayodele
The Presidency has announced significant progress toward the establishment of state police across Nigeria, revealing that a constitutional amendment to pave the way for the initiative is expected soon.
The Chief of Staff to the President, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, disclosed this on Thursday after a high-level consultative meeting on state police held at the State House in Abuja.
Speaking with State House Correspondents, Gbajabiamila said discussions on the proposed state police framework began several months ago following a directive from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and have now reached an advanced stage.
According to him, the process involves complex constitutional and legal considerations that require careful handling before implementation.
“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.
“Establishing state police is not something that you do with the snap of a finger. 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.”
Gbajabiamila explained that the current focus is on securing the necessary constitutional amendments, after which enabling legislation would be introduced to support the new policing structure.
He noted that discussions have moved beyond the question of whether state police should be created, stressing that attention is now centered on developing the appropriate legal and institutional framework for its operation.
The Chief of Staff added that President Tinubu, a long-time advocate of state police, would be briefed on the outcome of the meeting and the recommendations reached by stakeholders.
The consultative meeting forms part of ongoing efforts by the Federal Government to design a workable framework for state police, which is expected to strengthen internal security, improve intelligence gathering at the grassroots level, and enhance the capacity of state governments to respond to emerging security threats.
President Tinubu has repeatedly argued that a decentralized policing system is necessary to address Nigeria’s evolving security challenges and improve the protection of lives and property nationwide.
Among those who attended the meeting were Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Benjamin Kalu, Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Lateef Fagbemi, and Inspector-General of Police Tunji Disu, alongside other senior government officials.