The Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill has extended the deadline for submission of memoranda and position papers on the proposed legislation to Friday, August 21, 2026, at 5:00pm West Africa Time, just a day after announcing an earlier deadline of Thursday, August 13.
In a statement signed by the Chief of Staff to the President and Chairman of the Presidential Working Group, Femi Gbajabiamila, on Thursday, the group said the extension was aimed at giving interested individuals, institutions and organisations adequate opportunity 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 read.
The proposed legislation is intended to provide the operational, administrative, institutional and funding framework for an effective policing architecture responsive to Nigeria's evolving security needs, while incorporating safeguards for accountability, professionalism and 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 encouraged legal practitioners, civil society organisations, security sector professionals, state governments, professional bodies, academics, experts and members of the public to take advantage of the extended window to submit memoranda and position papers exclusively through the official National Policing Bill portal on or before the new deadline.
He noted that developing an effective policing framework requires 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. "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," he said.
He disclosed that 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 group appreciated stakeholders who had already made submissions and urged others intending to participate to take advantage of the extension.
The National Policing Bill portal went live on August 3, 2026, when Gbajabiamila first announced the public consultation window, at the time indicating that submissions would 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.
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