President Bola Tinubu has not directed what specific provisions should be included in the proposed National Policing Bill, according to the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Planning and Research, Nnadubem Moghalu.
Speaking on Channels Television on Monday, Moghalu, who also serves as Secretary of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, said the draft legislation is being developed through extensive consultations with experts, state governments and the public.
He explained that the President’s priority is to ensure the proposed law produces a practical and effective policing framework rather than prescribing its specific contents.
“The President has not dictated to us specifics of what will go into the National Policing Bill. What we have now is a desire to build something that will be implementable and will work for all Nigerians,” he said.
Moghalu’s remarks come amid growing public interest in the federal government’s role in shaping the legal framework for state policing following the constitutional amendment introducing a dual policing architecture.
According to him, while the constitutional amendment establishes the legal foundation for federal and state police, the National Policing Bill will provide the operational framework needed to make the new system functional.
“The constitutional amendment that has passed in the National Assembly provides the framework architecture, the bare bones, as it were, and the National Policing Bill will put some flesh on those bones,” he said.
He noted that the legislation would address critical issues such as funding, recruitment, training, certification, command structure, jurisdiction and collaboration between federal and state police forces.
The Presidential aide added that the bill would also define how conflicts between the two policing systems would be resolved, citing the example of suspects fleeing across state boundaries.
“Imagine, for example, that a criminal is being chased from Anambra State and runs across the border into Enugu or Kogi. In this dual system, what happens in that moment? Whatever answer is correct must be settled as a matter of law,” he said.
To encourage wider public participation, Moghalu disclosed that the government has opened a nationwide call for memoranda on the proposed legislation.
He said the working group has identified 17 thematic areas for contributions, including national minimum policing standards, state readiness and certification, federal and state policing architecture, jurisdiction, inspection and compliance, the Police Service Commission framework and the establishment of state police services.
He also revealed that a 26-member Policy Advisory Committee, chaired by retired Court of Appeal Justice Muhammad Abba Leman and comprising representatives from the judiciary, academia, security agencies and state Attorneys-General, will review the draft before it is presented to President Tinubu.
Urging Nigerians and relevant stakeholders to contribute to the process, Moghalu stressed that policing affects every citizen regardless of social or economic status.
“If you are a Nigerian living in Nigeria today, it doesn’t matter whether you are wealthy or poor, educated or uneducated. At some point in your life, you will interact with the police,” he said.
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