The Nigerian Government says significant progress has been made towards establishing state police, with constitutional amendments expected soon following months of consultations.
The Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, disclosed this while briefing State House Correspondents after a consultative meeting convened by the Presidency, on state police, held at the State House, Abuja.
Gbajabiamila said deliberations on the proposed state police framework began several months ago following a directive by President Bola Tinubu, noting that the process has gained considerable traction.
He said that the establishment of state police requires careful consideration of constitutional and legal issues and cannot be implemented hastily.
 “We started deliberations in the last three or four months on how to go about the establishment of state police as directed by Mr President.
“Establishing state police is not something that you do with the wave of the hand or snap on the finger there is alot involved in terms of constitution and legalities and thank God now we have gained alot of traction hopefully the amendment will come shortly and the details of the amendment will come after that .”Gbajabiamila added.
According to him, discussions are now on the stage of considering the necessary constitutional amendments.
“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,” he added.
He also highlighted national support for the initiative, noting that the debate is no longer about whether state police should be created but about creating the appropriate legal and institutional framework for its operation.
According to him President Tinubu, who has consistently advocated state police as part of efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s security architecture.
“That is what we have been deliberating on in the last couple of hours and hopefully we know that there is a national consensus on the establishment of state police i dont think there is any debate on that.
“It is something that the President has wanted and has been talking about for sometime since last year and he will be given a full report on this meeting and the outcome of this meeting” The Chief of Staff added.
The meeting was attended by the Deputy President of the Senate, Jibrin Barau, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi and the Inspector-General of Police,Tunji Disu, among other senior government and security officials.
