State police constitutional framework near completion, presidency says

Politics

ABUJA, Nigeria (NPA) — The Presidency has announced significant progress towards the establishment of state police, revealing that a constitutional amendment to provide the legal framework for the initiative is expected soon.

The Chief of Staff to the President, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, disclosed this on Thursday while briefing State House Correspondents after a high-level consultative meeting on state police held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

According to a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, deliberations on the proposed state police framework commenced several months ago following a directive by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

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Gbajabiamila said the discussions have advanced considerably, with stakeholders now focusing on the constitutional amendments required to pave the way for the creation of 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.

“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 explained that the current stage of discussions centres on constitutional reforms, after which enabling legislation would be introduced to operationalise the new policing structure.

According to the Chief of Staff, there is now broad consensus among key stakeholders on the need for state police, with conversations shifting from whether it should exist to how it should be structured and implemented.

Gbajabiamila said President Tinubu, a long-time advocate of state policing, would be presented with a comprehensive report on the outcome of the consultations.

The Federal Government has continued consultations with the National Assembly, security agencies and other stakeholders as part of efforts to develop a workable framework for decentralised policing.

Advocates of state police argue that it would strengthen grassroots security, improve intelligence gathering and enhance the capacity of state governments to tackle emerging security challenges more effectively.

President Tinubu has repeatedly maintained that state police remains a critical component of efforts to reform Nigeria’s security architecture and improve the protection of lives and property across the country.

The meeting was attended by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Jibrin Barau; Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu; the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi; the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun; and other senior government officials.