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, at 5:00 p.m. West Africa Time.
In a statement signed by the Chief of Staff to the President and Chairman of the Presidential Working Group, Femi Gbajabiamila, the group said the extension was intended to give interested individuals, institutions and organisations more time to make substantive contributions to the proposed legislation.
“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,” the statement said.
The proposed legislation is expected to establish the operational, administrative, institutional and funding framework for an effective policing architecture capable of responding to Nigeria’s evolving security needs, while providing 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 added.
Gbajabiamila said legal practitioners, civil society organisations, security sector professionals, state governments, professional bodies, academics, experts and other interested members of the public were encouraged to use the extended window to submit their memoranda and position papers.
Submissions must be made exclusively through the official National Policing Bill portal, nationalpolicingbill.com, on or before the revised deadline.
According to the statement, developing an effective policing framework requires careful consideration of critical issues, including sustainable funding, command and control structures, recruitment and training standards, operational jurisdiction, inter-agency coordination, accountability mechanisms, and safeguards against political interference and abuse.
“These considerations underscore the importance of robust stakeholder engagement in developing a framework that is effective, accountable, sustainable and responsive to the peculiar security needs of communities across the federation,” Gbajabiamila said.
At the conclusion of its assignment, the Presidential Working Group is expected to present a final, implementation-ready draft of the National Policing Bill for onward legislative processing.
The group thanked stakeholders who had already made submissions and encouraged others wishing to participate in the process to take advantage of the extension.
The National Policing Bill portal went live on August 3, 2026, when Gbajabiamila announced the public consultation during a press briefing on the proposed reform. At the time, the submission window was expected to close after roughly two weeks.
The Working Group is expected to present the completed Executive Bill package to President Bola Tinubu for review on September 3, 2026.
