The Federal Government has started preparing the legal and operational framework needed to introduce state police in Nigeria.
It also announced a seven week plan to produce a National Policing Bill that will guide how both federal and state police will operate.
The Chairman of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill and Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, made this known while speaking to journalists in Abuja on Monday.
He said that although the National Assembly has made progress on the constitutional amendment to allow state police, no state police service currently exists in Nigeria.
According to him, the Nigeria Police Force remains the country’s only legally recognised police organisation until the constitutional process is completed.
Gbajabiamila explained that the Senate approved the constitutional proposal on June 24, 2026, while the House of Representatives passed the Executive State Police Bill on July 23, 2026.
He added that the amendment will only take effect after it is approved by the required number of state Houses of Assembly and the necessary implementation law is passed.
He stressed that there is no operational state police anywhere in Nigeria at the moment and that the constitutional amendment only provides the legal foundation for federal and state policing.
He said the National Policing Bill will provide the detailed rules and framework needed for the new policing system to operate effectively.
Gbajabiamila said the Senate approved the constitutional proposal on June 24, 2026, while the House of Representatives passed the Executive State Police Bill on July 23, 2026.
He explained that the amendment will only take effect after it is approved by the required number of state Houses of Assembly and the necessary implementation law is passed.
He stressed that there is no operational state police in Nigeria yet. According to him, the constitutional amendment only creates the legal foundation for federal and state policing, while the National Policing Bill will provide the detailed rules needed to make the new policing system work.
