Nigeria nears completion of state police constitutional framework

Nigeria's Presidency announced significant progress Thursday toward establishing state police forces, a move requiring constitutional amendments that are expected soon. Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to the President, stated after a consultative meeting in Abuja that the framework's development began months ago under President Bola Tinubu's directive.

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Establishing state police is not something that you do with the snap of the fingers. There is a lot involved in terms of constitution and legalities, and thank God we have now gained a lot of traction.

Gbajabiamila emphasized that creating state police is a complex process involving constitutional and legal considerations, and cannot be rushed. "Establishing state police is not something that you do with the snap of the fingers," he said. "There is a lot involved in terms of constitution and legalities, and thank God we have now gained a lot of traction."

The focus is currently on the constitutional amendments, with enabling legislation to follow. This initiative gains momentum amid ongoing security challenges like banditry, insurgency, and kidnapping, which critics argue the overstretched, under-resourced Nigeria Police Force struggles to address effectively. Some states have already created security networks like Amotekun, operating in legal gray areas.

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Hopefully, the amendment will come shortly, and the details of the amendment will come after that.

Gbajabiamila noted a growing national consensus on the need for state police, with discussions shifting from "whether" to "how" to implement the appropriate legal and institutional framework. The Presidency aims to finalize the constitutional amendments shortly, followed by the necessary laws.

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Right now, what we are looking at is the constitutional amendment itself, and then the enabling law would follow thereafter. That is what we have been deliberating on in the last couple of hours.