The Presidency says a proposed National Policing Bill is approximately 90 per cent complete and could be sent to the National Assembly within two weeks, as the Federal Government prepares a legal framework for a dual federal and state policing system.
Chief of Staff to the President Femi Gbajabiamila gave the update after a meeting of the presidential working group’s steering committee at the State House in Abuja. He said a final round of consultations would address remaining issues, including observations raised by governors.
Gbajabiamila described the proposal as one of the administration’s most consequential bills and said work on the draft had been underway since the steering committee began its deliberations on August 3, 2026.
The legislation is intended to complement the proposed constitutional alteration on state policing. While the constitutional amendment would create the authority for a dual structure, the National Policing Bill is expected to spell out operational rules and institutional safeguards.
According to the president’s earlier explanation, those provisions would address minimum policing standards, readiness certification for states, federal-state coordination, accountability, human-rights protections and fiscal requirements.
Gbajabiamila acknowledged that only a limited number of states had reportedly completed the constitutional amendment process, but said he believed broad national support existed for state police.
The meeting included governors, Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Disu, representatives of the Justice Ministry and National Security Adviser, and members of the police reform working group.
The bill has not yet been transmitted, and neither the proposed operational law nor the constitutional changes should be treated as enacted on the basis of the meeting alone. The final provisions and state-level approval process will determine how any new policing system is established and supervised.
