Illustrative image: Nigerian police officers on parade. Photo: AMISOM Public Information, Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, has said the National Policing Bill is 90 per cent ready for transmission to the National Assembly, with the Federal Government expected to forward it to lawmakers within two weeks.
Gbajabiamila spoke on Thursday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, after a meeting of the Presidential Working Group on police reform, which reviewed the draft bill alongside progress on the constitutional amendment that will allow states to establish their own police services.
The meeting was attended by the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors' Forum and Governor of Kwara State, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq; Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State; Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State; and the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, among others.
Responding to concerns about the pace of state-level approval, particularly reports that only about six states have passed the Sixth Constitution Alteration Bill on state police out of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Gbajabiamila expressed confidence that the process would receive broad support.
He affirmed that there was a national consensus among Nigerians on the need for the amendments, adding that the governors had one or two observations on the bill which were being addressed.
The Presidential Working Group on state policing was inaugurated by President Bola Tinubu in July to develop the legal framework for state police, and the National Assembly has since transmitted the constitutional amendment bill to the 36 state Houses of Assembly for consideration.
The National Policing Bill is part of the Federal Government's broader effort to reform policing in the country, while the separate constitutional amendment seeks to provide the legal foundation for states to establish their own police structures.
Supporters of state policing argue that it will bring security closer to communities and improve response to banditry, kidnapping and other local threats, while critics have urged safeguards against potential abuse by state governments.
If passed, the bills will mark one of the most significant reforms of Nigeria's policing architecture since the return to democratic rule in 1999.
Source: Channels Television
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