State police: Tinubu inaugurates panel on implementation

.Seeks Senate’s confirmation of AMCON chair nominee

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday inaugurated the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, a committee tasked with drafting the legal framework for the implementation of state police across Nigeria.

Represented by his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, at the inauguration held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, the President said the proposed legislation would provide the legal structure required to operationalise the state police system following the National Assembly’s passage of the Constitution Alteration (State Police) Bill, 2026.

Tinubu explained that while the constitutional amendment establishes the framework for a dual policing system comprising the Federal Police Service and 36 State Police Services, the National Policing Bill would address the practical details of implementation.

“The Constitution Amendment Bill establishes the framework for dual policing, but it does not operationalise it. That work is left to the National Policing Bill,” the President said.

According to him, the proposed bill will include provisions on minimum policing standards, state readiness certification, federal-state coordination, accountability, human rights safeguards and fiscal conditions.

He said the working group was established to produce an implementation-ready draft bill for transmission to the National Assembly immediately after the constitutional amendment process is completed, adding that work should begin before the amendment is fully concluded to avoid implementation delays.

Gbajabiamila will chair the committee, which includes the Attorney-General of the Federation, the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), the National Security Adviser, the Inspector-General of Police and the Chairman of the NGF Committee on State Police. A secretariat will provide administrative support.

Speaking on behalf of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun pledged the support of state governors for the reform and said efforts would be made to ensure speedy consideration of the constitutional amendment by the 36 state Houses of Assembly.

Abiodun described state police as a response to longstanding calls for community-based policing and said the initiative built on the success of regional security outfits such as Amotekun in the South-West.

He added that if each state recruits about 6,000 personnel, nearly 200,000 additional officers would be deployed to complement the existing federal police.

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), described the initiative as timely given the country’s security challenges. He urged governors to facilitate the early ratification of the constitutional amendment by their respective state assemblies.

“There is no denying the fact that we are in a critical moment security-wise, and all hands must be on deck,” Fagbemi said.

Also speaking, NBA President Afam Osigwe reaffirmed the association’s support for the establishment of state police, arguing that Nigeria could not be effectively policed by a single national police force.

He, however, stressed the need for adequate legal safeguards to prevent abuse of state police powers, saying the legislation must ensure accountability and protect citizens’ rights.

Attorneys-general and commissioners for justice from Plateau, Lagos and Ondo states, representatives of the Inspector-General of Police and the National Security Adviser, as well as other senior government officials, attended the inauguration.

Also, the President has asked the Senate to confirm the appointment of Lamido Yuguda Abubakar as Chairman of the Board of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria.

The request was conveyed in a letter read by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during plenary on Wednesday.

In the letter, Tinubu said the nomination was made in accordance with Section 10(1)(a) of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (Establishment) Act, 2019, as amended.

“I am pleased to present for confirmation by the Senate the appointment of Mr Lamido Yuguda Abubakar as chairman of the board of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON),” the letter read.

The President explained that the nomination became necessary following the exit of the immediate past chairman of the corporation’s board.

“The Senate is invited to kindly note that the appointment of Mr Lamido Yuguda Abubakar is necessitated by the exit of the immediate past chairman of the board of AMCON,” Tinubu stated.

He expressed optimism that the Senate would act on the request without delay.

“While it is my hope that the Senate will consider and confirm the nominee expeditiously, please accept, distinguished Senate President, the assurances of my highest consideration,” the President said.

Following the presentation of the letter, Akpabio referred the nomination to the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions for legislative consideration.

The committee was mandated to screen the nominee and submit its report to the Senate within two weeks.

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