President Bola Tinubu has inaugurated the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill to develop the legal framework for implementing state police across Nigeria.

The committee was inaugurated at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, with the President represented by his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, according to a statement by Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga.

The move follows the National Assembly’s passage of the Constitution Alteration (State Police) Bill, 2026, which proposes a dual policing system comprising the Federal Police Service and 36 State Police Services.

Tinubu said while the constitutional amendment provides the framework for state police, the National Policing Bill will set out the legal and operational guidelines needed to make the system work. He added that work on the bill should begin immediately instead of waiting for the constitutional amendment process to be completed.

Gbajabiamila will chair the committee, which includes the Attorney-General of the Federation, the Inspector-General of Police, the National Security Adviser, the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), and representatives of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF).

Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), described the move as timely, citing Nigeria’s growing security challenges.

He urged state governors to fast-track the passage of the constitutional amendment in their respective Houses of Assembly, stressing that implementing state police is a shared responsibility.