The Presidency has announced significant progress toward the establishment of state police, revealing that a constitutional amendment to provide the legal framework for its creation is expected soon.

The Chief of Staff to the President, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, disclosed this on Thursday while briefing State House Correspondents after a consultative meeting on state police convened by the Presidency at the State House in Abuja.

Gbajabiamila said discussions on the proposed state police framework began several months ago following a directive by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and have now advanced substantially.

According to him, the process is currently focused on the constitutional amendment required to establish state police, while the enabling legislation would be considered afterwards.

“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,” he said.

He explained that creating state police involves extensive constitutional and legal considerations and cannot be implemented hastily.

“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. Hopefully, the amendment will come shortly, and the details of the amendment will come after that,” he added.

Gbajabiamila noted that deliberations during the meeting centered on the constitutional amendment process and the legal framework required to support the initiative.

“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 said.

The Chief of Staff said there is now broad national support for the establishment of state police, stressing that discussions have moved beyond whether it should exist to determining the most appropriate legal and institutional structure for its operation.

He added that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who has consistently advocated for state police as part of efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s security architecture, would receive a comprehensive report on the outcome of the consultations.

The meeting formed part of ongoing engagements by the Federal Government aimed at developing a workable framework for state police, an initiative designed to strengthen internal security, improve local intelligence gathering and enhance the capacity of state governments to address emerging security threats.

President Tinubu has repeatedly argued that a decentralised policing structure is necessary to respond to Nigeria’s evolving security challenges, improve grassroots security and enhance the protection of lives and property across the country.

Among those who attended the meeting were the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Jibrin Barau; the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu; and the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, alongside other senior government officials.