I Didn’t Plan to Write a Memorandum on Nigeria’s National Policing Bill. Then I Changed My Mind

By Njideka Maduka

Broadcast Journalist

I didn’t plan to write a memorandum on Nigeria’s National Policing Bill today.

Honestly, I didn’t.

A few weeks ago, during one of our paper review sessions on radio, my team and I discussed the proposed National Policing Bill and mentioned that the Presidential Working Group on the Bill, chaired by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, had invited Nigerians to make submissions.

We talked about it, as we have done with several issues surrounding the proposed reform of policing in Nigeria.

But I did not immediately think, “I should write a memorandum.”

Then this morning, August 13, 2026, I saw the story again in the newspapers.

And there it was: 5 p.m. was the deadline for public submissions.

While discussing the story on air, I suddenly said to myself:

“I think I should contribute.”

And that was how it started.

After the programme, I began putting my thoughts together.

Initially, I thought it would be straightforward. I would simply write down my general views on state police, explain why I support it and highlight some of the safeguards I believe should be put in place.

But as I started thinking through the issue, I realised there was much more to it.

I began asking myself questions.

What happens when a governor gives a directive to the state police that the police commissioner considers politically motivated?

Who should have the power to question such a directive?

What happens when the governor's intelligence is actually correct and the police commissioner refuses to act?

How do we prevent state police from becoming an instrument for political victimisation?

Who protects an ordinary citizen when a police officer abuses his or her powers?

Where does a citizen complain?

What happens after the complaint is made?

What if a disciplinary recommendation is issued but is never implemented?

How should recruitment into state police be handled?

Should only indigenes of a state be eligible?

How should funding work without making the governor the de facto owner of the police?

And what happens when federal and state police have to work together on a security threat?

The more questions I asked, the more complicated the issue became.

Before long, my general thoughts had expanded into several areas of the proposed Bill.

Then I discovered another important part of the consultation process that I had not initially understood.

The consultation was organised around 17 thematic policy areas, each with specific issues for contributors to address. Contributors were also encouraged to focus on one or two thematic areas.

Ah! That changed the assignment completely. 😂

I had to go back, read the themes carefully, study the specific questions under them and decide where my contribution would actually fit.

Eventually, I settled on two themes:

THEME 8: State Police Service Establishment and the Model State Law.

THEME 12: Complaints, Accountability and Human Rights Safeguards.

That meant I could no longer simply say, “I support state police.”

I had to think about the structure that would make state police workable.

For me, supporting state police is not simply about bringing policing closer to the people. It is also about ensuring that bringing policing closer does not bring political abuse closer to the citizen.

That distinction became very important in my thinking.

A state police system, in my view, should recognise that the governor remains an important actor in the security architecture of the state, but should not become the ultimate authority over every operational decision of the police.

There must be checks.

There must be independent institutions capable of questioning unlawful or politically motivated directives.

There must also be mechanisms for dealing with the opposite situation, where a police commissioner or other senior officer refuses to obey a lawful and genuinely necessary directive from the governor.

In other words, accountability should not run in only one direction.

The same principle applies to citizens' complaints.

If a police officer abuses a citizen, there should be an accessible and independent complaint mechanism through which that citizen can seek redress.

I believe such an authority should not merely receive complaints and write reports that disappear into government files.

It should be able to monitor what happens after its recommendations are made.

There should be timelines.

There should be consequences for failure to act.

And citizens should know what happened to their complaints.

I also believe transparency matters.

If a complaint authority receives hundreds of complaints about police misconduct, Nigerians should not have to guess what happened to those complaints. Periodic public reporting should tell citizens the number and nature of complaints received, how many were investigated, how many were substantiated and what actions followed.

These were some of the questions and positions that eventually found their way into my submissions.

And yes, I used technology and AI as part of the process.

I think it is important to say that openly.

The technology helped me organise, question and refine my thinking. It helped me navigate the structure of the consultation and put ideas into a more coherent form.

But the opinions, experiences, arguments and positions expressed in the memoranda are mine.

The tool did not decide what I believe.

After hours of reading, questioning, restructuring and editing, I finally submitted my two memoranda before the 5 p.m. deadline.

Whew! 😂✋

I honestly did not know when I woke up this morning that I would be writing a memorandum on the National Policing Bill.

But I am glad I did.

Because there is something I have come to appreciate about public participation.

We often complain that citizens are not carried along when important policies and laws are being developed.

And sometimes, that criticism is justified.

But when government creates an opportunity for citizens to contribute, we also have a responsibility to use that opportunity.

It may not mean that our recommendations will all be accepted.

They may even be rejected.

But participation gives citizens an opportunity to put their perspectives on record.

Many times on radio, my team and I have followed the National Policing Bill closely, right from its proposal stage. We have questioned several issues around it, debated them and tried to make sense of what the proposed changes could mean for Nigerians.

So, I thought it was time to go beyond the talks and put some of those thoughts on paper, for the people working on the Bill to consider.

This memorandum is not me saying I have all the answers.

It is simply my contribution.

My voice.

My little attempt to participate in shaping a conversation about something that could fundamentally change policing in Nigeria.

And perhaps that is the bigger question for all of us.

When we are given the opportunity to contribute to a policy that could affect our communities, our security and our rights, what do we do with it?

Do we participate?

Do we ask questions?

Do we make recommendations?

Or do we wait until the law is passed, the policy is implemented and problems begin to emerge before we start complaining?

For me, today, I chose to participate.

I may not know whether every recommendation I made will make it into the final Bill.

But at least I can say that when I had the opportunity to contribute, I did.

And yes...

I beat the 5 p.m. deadline. 😂✋🇳🇬

Perhaps that is the real point.

Democracy is not only about voting every four years.

Sometimes, it is also about showing up when you are invited to speak.

And today, I showed up. 

UPDATE: August 13, 2026

After I submitted my two memoranda earlier today, the Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill announced an extension of the submission deadline.

The new deadline is 5 p.m. on Friday, August 21, 2026.

The extension means Nigerians who have not yet submitted their memoranda now have additional time to study the proposed legislation, consider the specific thematic areas and make their contributions.

I had already submitted my memoranda on Theme 8, State Police Service Establishment and the Model State Law, and Theme 12, Complaints, Accountability and Human Rights Safeguards, before the original deadline.

If you have something to say about the future of policing in Nigeria, there is now more time to say it.