The federal government has announced a seven-week roadmap, including a call for memoranda on how to seamlessly transition Nigeria from a unitary policing system to one that allows for state police.
Presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga, in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES, said the “Presidential Working Group on the proposed National Policing Bill has invited Nigerians to submit memoranda and policy proposals as part of efforts to establish a comprehensive legal and operational framework for state policing.”
President Bola Tinubu has made the creation of state police one of his cardinal programmes to address insecurity across Nigeria. PREMIUM TIMES reports that a bill to alter the constitution and allow for state policing has already been passed by the National Assembly but still needs the support of 24 of Nigeria’s 36 state assemblies and the signature of the president to become law.
Critics of state police have argued that state governors may abuse them. However, Mr Onanuga said the framework being developed would address such concerns.
“The proposed framework will set national minimum standards, define state readiness and grant certification, clarify jurisdictional responsibilities, ensure independent oversight, uphold human rights, and guarantee sustainable funding. It would also spell out an orderly transition to a dual-policing structure,” he wrote.
