The Presidency has clarified that President Bola Tinubu has not directed what should be contained in the proposed National Policing Bill, stressing that the legislation is being shaped through consultations with stakeholders across the country.

Speaking on Channels Television on Monday, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Planning and Research, Mr Nnadubem Moghalu, said the drafting process was deliberately designed to accommodate contributions from experts, state governments and members of the public.

Moghalu, who also serves as Secretary of the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill, said the President’s priority was to ensure the legislation delivers an effective and practical policing system rather than prescribe its specific provisions.

Responding to a question on whether Tinubu had outlined what should be included in the bill, he said: “No. The President has not dictated to us specifics of what will go into the National Policing Bill.

“What we have now is a desire to build something that will be implementable and will work for all Nigerians.”

He explained that while the constitutional amendment establishing a dual policing structure had laid the legal foundation for federal and state police, a separate law was still required to provide the operational details.

“The constitutional amendment that has passed in the National Assembly provides the framework architecture, the bare bones, as it were, and the National Policing Bill will put some flesh on those bones,” he said.

According to Moghalu, the legislation will address critical issues needed to make the new policing arrangement functional. These include funding, recruitment, training, certification, command structure, jurisdiction and coordination between federal and state police formations.

He added that the bill would also establish legal procedures for situations where responsibilities overlap between the two policing systems.

Illustrating the need for clarity, Moghalu cited the example of a suspect escaping across state borders.

“Imagine, for example, that a criminal is being chased from Anambra State, who has committed a crime in Anambra State, and he runs across the border into Enugu or into Kogi. In this dual system, what happens in that moment?

“Whatever answer you think is the correct answer in this situation, that answer has to be settled as a matter of law.”

He disclosed that the government had invited Nigerians to submit memoranda on the proposed legislation as part of efforts to ensure broad public participation.

Moghalu said the working group had identified 17 thematic areas for consideration, including minimum policing standards nationwide, state preparedness and certification, the relationship between federal and state police, jurisdictional boundaries, inspection and compliance mechanisms, the structure of the Police Service Commission and the establishment of state police services.

He further revealed that a 26-member Policy Advisory Committee, chaired by retired Court of Appeal Justice Muhammad Abba Leman, would examine the draft prepared by the working group before it is forwarded to the President.

The committee comprises representatives from the judiciary, academia, the police, other security agencies and state Attorneys-General.

Calling on Nigerians to take part in the process, Moghalu said policing was a matter that concerned every citizen.

“If you are a Nigerian living in Nigeria today, it doesn’t matter whether you are wealthy, it doesn’t matter whether you are poor, it doesn’t matter whether you are educated or uneducated. At some point in your life, you will interact with the police,” he said.