State Police: Presidential panel extends deadline for memoranda

…Sets August 21 deadline for submissions

By Johnbosco Agbakwuru

ABUJA: The Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill has extended the deadline for the submission of memoranda and position papers on the proposed legislation to Friday, August 21, 2026.

The submissions are to be made by 5 p.m. West Africa Time (WAT).

The extension was announced on Thursday in a statement by the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu and Chairman of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila.

Gbajabiamila said the extension was intended to give stakeholders additional time to prepare and enable interested individuals, institutions and organisations to make well-considered contributions to the proposed legislation.

He said the Working Group was committed to ensuring broad consultation and incorporating informed perspectives from Nigerians and relevant stakeholders into the development of the National Policing Bill.

According to him, the proposed legislation is expected to provide the operational, administrative, institutional and funding framework required for an effective policing architecture that responds to Nigeria’s evolving security needs.

He added that the framework would also provide safeguards for accountability, professionalism and the protection of citizens’ rights.

“Given the significance of the proposed reform to the future of policing and internal security in Nigeria, the Working Group considers it important that stakeholders are afforded more opportunity to make substantive and technically sound contributions to the process,” the statement said.

It urged legal practitioners, civil society organisations, security sector professionals, state governments, professional bodies, academics, experts and interested members of the public to take advantage of the extension.

“All submissions must be made on or before 5:00 p.m. WAT on Friday, August 21, 2026, exclusively through the official National Policing Bill portal, nationalpolicingbill.com,” it added.

The Working Group said the development of an effective policing framework required careful consideration of issues including sustainable funding, command and control structures, recruitment and training standards, operational jurisdiction, inter-agency coordination, accountability mechanisms and safeguards against political interference or abuse.

It said these issues underscored the need for robust stakeholder engagement to develop a policing framework that would be effective, accountable, sustainable and responsive to the security needs of communities across the country.

“At the conclusion of its assignment, the Presidential Working Group will present a final, implementation-ready draft of the National Policing Bill for onward legislative processing,” the statement said.

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

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