August 16, (THEWILL) — There is no doubt that the national policing bill is an important piece of legislation that requires the necessary input from stakeholders across board. And so, the decision by the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill to call for the submission of memoranda and position papers on the proposed legislation is a welcome development. However, there is a crucial aspect of the matter that must be addressed urgently and adequately.
It is about public participation from the point of understanding. The debate that the proposal has generated, the fears expressed about it and the robust discussions, readings and constitutional amendment it had to undergo at the National Assembly have shown that the Federal Government is quite serious about it, almost a year after President Bola Tinubu tossed the idea to state governors.
What appears to give cause for concern is that haste is implied in the final lap of the process. The presidential group last Thursday called for public submission of memoranda and position papers on the bill, setting Friday, August 21, 2026 as deadline.
According to the Chairman of the Group, who is also Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, the “extension was intended to ensure that interested individuals, institutions and organisations have adequate opportunity to make substantive contributions to the proposed legislation.”
He said the Presidential Working Group is committed to ensuring that the process of developing the National Policing Bill benefits from broad consultation and the informed perspectives of Nigerians and relevant stakeholders. He submitted that, given the significance of the proposed reform to the future of policing and internal security in Nigeria, the presidential group considers it important that stakeholders are afforded more opportunities to make substantive and technically sound contributions to the process. He had a target audience in mind. They are legal practitioners, civil society organisations, security sector professionals, state governments, professional bodies, academics, experts and interested members of the public.
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Areas of the bill requiring contribution include sustainable funding, command and control structures, recruitment and training standards, operational jurisdiction, inter-agency coordination, accountability mechanisms and safeguards against political interference or abuse. By September 3, 2026, President Tinubu is expected to have the completed bill on his table for review.
As a civil rights group, the Rule of Law, Accountability and Advocacy Centre, RULAAC, put it, meaningful participation requires informed participation. How can Nigerians submit useful memoranda on a bill they have not seen? Public consultation should begin with the publication of the draft legislation. Without access to the text, citizens are left to speculate about its contents, making genuine engagement virtually impossible.
The extension time announced by Mr Gbajabiamila is barely a week ahead. Not sufficient to publish the draft National Policing Bill and for relevant stakeholders to study it and make meaningful contributions. It has taken a long time to come. There should be no need to hurry over it now; it must be worth the effort if it gets all the necessary contributions. We urge the presidential group to publish the bill and allow for more robust contributions from the appropriate quarters.
After all, the group extended the date for the proposals because it values stakeholders’ contributions. This call for public memoranda, which we consider the final lap in this process, should be given sufficient time to materialise and flow seamlessly with past efforts; It will make the bill truly Nigerian.
