ABUJA, NIGERIA — The Presidency has announced that public submissions and memoranda regarding the proposed National Policing Bill and the establishment of state police will formally close today, Thursday, August 13, 2026, at 5:00 PM.
Disclosing the development, Chief of Staff to the President and Chairman of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, Femi Gbajabiamila, urged Nigerians, civil society groups, and legal experts to submit their final inputs through the public portal (nationalpolicingbill.com). The public consultation phase was designed to gather nationwide professional expertise to address crucial safeguards against political interference, operational oversight, police misconduct, and federal-state intelligence sharing.
Key Operational & Governance Highlights
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Consultation Deadline: Public submissions opened on August 3 via the national policing portal and close at 5:00 PM on August 13, 2026.
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Guardrails Against Political Abuse: A core objective of the legislation is drafting statutory protections to prevent state governors or political officeholders from misusing state police services against opposition figures, journalists, or peaceful protesters.
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National Standards Framework: The bill sets nationwide benchmarks for officer recruitment, vetting, training, remuneration, discipline, and operational rules governing the use of force across both federal and state police services.
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Legislative Progress: Following the conclusion of public consultations and technical reviews, the executive draft will be reviewed by President Bola Tinubu before formal transmission to the National Assembly for legislative consideration.
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│ NATIONAL POLICING BILL CONSULTATION SUMMARY │
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│ • Lead Official : Femi Gbajabiamila (Chief of Staff to President) │
│ • Portal : nationalpolicingbill.com │
│ • Submission Deadline: Thursday, August 13, 2026 (5:00 PM WAT) │
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│ • Primary Focus : Establishing state police framework while │
│ preventing political misuse and abuse of power │
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│ • Key Objectives : • Standardized recruitment and vetting │
│ • Independent complaint and oversight channels │
│ • Seamless inter-agency intelligence sharing │
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“Proximity Does Not Guarantee Justice”
“State police could bring policing closer to communities and improve responses to local security challenges… But proximity does not guarantee justice. The concern that governors might use state police against political opponents, minority communities or dissenting voices is serious and must be answered in the design of the law.” — Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to the President
“The law must protect citizens regardless of who holds office. It must protect opposition parties, peaceful protesters, journalists and minority communities… State police cannot mean 36 state militias, just as national standards cannot become a disguised method of re-centralising day-to-day state policing.” — Femi Gbajabiamila
