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By Lawrence Agbo
President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Afam Osigwe, says the association joined the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill to help develop legal safeguards that will prevent the abuse of the proposed state police system.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday, Osigwe said the NBA remains committed to strengthening governance by contributing to laws that promote accountability, protect citizens’ rights and improve national security.
According to him, opposition to state police had long been driven by fears that state governors could use the system as a political tool to intimidate opponents.
“There is initially an aversion to the creation of state police, the fear being that it will be abused by state governors, it will be politicised and become an official tool of oppression,” he said.
Osigwe, however, noted that worsening insecurity across the country has shifted public opinion, with many Nigerians now supporting the establishment of state police.
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“But in having it, to address the fears which in the first place made it difficult for us to have state police, we have to ensure that the right constitutional structures are put in place,” he added.
He explained that the NBA accepted membership of the committee because it could not ignore an opportunity to help draft laws that would prevent abuse and strengthen Nigeria’s policing system.
“If, in this process, the NBA has been given an opportunity to contribute to drafting laws that will ensure that these fears are addressed, that will enact laws that will make a better policing system in Nigeria, the NBA cannot run away from that. We may criticise, but we should be willing to also constructively engage and contribute to building a better society,” Osigwe said.
President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday inaugurated the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill to develop the legal framework for the implementation of state police following the National Assembly’s passage of the Constitution Alteration (State Police) Bill, 2026.
The NBA is represented on the committee alongside key stakeholders, including the Attorney-General of the Federation, the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, the National Security Adviser and the Inspector-General of Police.
