The Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill is on schedule to meet the targets set out in its seven-week plan, according to Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, who chairs the group.
His comments came as the extended deadline for public submissions on the bill was set to lapse Friday at 5:00 p.m.Gbajabiamila disclosed this in a statement, saying the group had moved beyond its initial organisational phase and begun work on the first drafting sprint of the proposed legislation.
He credited the Policy Advisory Committee — led by retired Justice Mohammed Abdullahi Liman — with completing its first round of oversight duties, laying out policy guidance for the legal drafting team. That team, made up of lawyers nominated by the Federal Ministry of Justice, has since begun drafting work in line with the group’s approved timetable.
According to him, the national consultation exercise has also received contributions from institutions, professional bodies, civil society organisations, security stakeholders, experts and members of the public.
He said the memoranda and position papers submitted were being systematically reviewed and analysed to ensure that relevant recommendations and perspectives were incorporated into the legislative process.
The chairman noted that the submission deadline had already been pushed back once to give stakeholders more time to weigh in, and he encouraged anyone who had not yet submitted a memorandum or position paper to do so before the window closes.
“As the consultation window closes, the Working Group will intensify its focus on the next phase of the drafting process, while sustaining the pace established during the opening weeks of its seven-week assignment,” he said.
He described the submissions as a critical part of building what he called a solid legal framework to address Nigeria’s current policing and security challenges.
The bill under development would establish a constitutional and legal basis for a two-tier policing system, a Federal Police Service alongside State Police Services, complete with checks, accountability structures and oversight mechanisms.
Gbajabiamila reiterated the group’s commitment to a thorough, inclusive process that stays within its time limit and ultimately produces a full legislative proposal for the President’s review before it heads to the National Assembly.
With the submission window closing, attention now turns fully to the drafting phase, still bound by the original seven-week deadline. Once finished, the bill will go to the President for consideration ahead of transmission to lawmakers.
Hadizat Giwa