Tinubu presides over Police Council meeting

President Bola Tinubu is currently presiding over a meeting of the Nigeria Police Council at the Council Chambers of the State House, Abuja.

The session, which began at about 2:39 pm on Thursday, comes shortly after the President convened a meeting of the Council of State where he presented a list of nominees to succeed Prof. Mahmud Yakubu as Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission.

This is coming just five weeks after he reaffirmed that the Federal Government will consider the operations of a state police, and further equip recently deployed forest guards.

“I am reviewing all the aspects of security; I have to create a state police,” Tinubu said when he received a Katsina state delegation led by Governor Dikko Radda at the State House, Abuja, on September 2, 2025.

It forms part of ongoing consultations on state policing, 18 months after the Tinubu administration first mooted the idea in February 2024.

At Thursday’s Police Council meeting, participants observed a minute’s silence in honour of former Inspector-General Solomon Arase, who passed away on August 31, 2025.

The Council is one of the key advisory and decision-making organs on law enforcement. It reviews current security challenges, assesses progress under the ongoing police reforms, and deliberates on the performance and welfare of officers nationwide. The council may also consider issues relating to police leadership and operational coordination among the states.

Vice President Kashim Shettima, Secretary to the Government of the Federation George Akume, National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, and Minister of Police Affairs Ibrahim Gaidam are attending the session, alongside all 36 state governors or their representatives. Bauchi, for instance, is represented by its deputy governor.

The Police Council, established under Section 153 of the 1999 Constitution, is chaired by the President and includes the governors of all states, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, and the Inspector-General of Police.

It is empowered to advise the President on the organisation, administration, and general supervision of the Nigeria Police Force, as well as on the appointment or removal of the Inspector-General.

Details later…