The Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill has extended the deadline for Nigerians and other stakeholders to submit memoranda and position papers on the proposed legislation by eight days.

The new deadline is 5:00 p.m. on Friday, August 21, 2026, replacing the initial deadline of 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 13.

The Chairman of the Working Group and Chief of Staff to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, announced the extension in a statement, saying it would give individuals, institutions and organisations additional time to prepare and submit detailed contributions.

Gbajabiamila said the extension was in line with the group’s commitment to ensuring broad consultation in the development of a new legal framework for policing in Nigeria.

He urged legal practitioners, civil society organisations, security professionals, state governments, academics, professional bodies and other interested members of the public to use the additional period to submit their views.

According to him, the proposed National Policing Bill is expected to establish the operational, administrative, institutional and funding framework required for an effective policing system while strengthening accountability, professionalism and the protection of citizens’ rights.

The Working Group identified sustainable funding, command and control, recruitment and training, operational jurisdiction, inter-agency cooperation, accountability and safeguards against political interference as some of the critical issues requiring stakeholder input.

All memoranda and position papers must be submitted through the official National Policing Bill portal, nationalpolicingbill.com, on or before the new deadline.

Gbajabiamila said the Working Group would, after completing its assignment, produce a final implementation-ready draft of the bill for onward legislative processing.

The call for submissions was initially announced on August 3 as part of efforts to encourage public participation in the proposed policing reforms.

At the time, Gbajabiamila said the initiative was intended to enable Nigerians from different backgrounds to contribute to the development of a policing framework that would better address the country’s security needs.

The Working Group thanked stakeholders who had already submitted memoranda and encouraged others to take advantage of the extended deadline to participate in the process.