Key security stakeholders on Tuesday threw their weight behind a sweeping amendment of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund Act, urging the National Assembly to double police funding and remove the law’s expiry date to sustain the fight against banditry, terrorism and kidnapping.
At a one-day public hearing by the Senate Committee on Police Affairs, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Police Service Commission (PSC), Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and the Police Trust Fund itself backed the proposed Nigeria Police Trust Fund Act, 2026.
The bill seeks to strengthen funding for the Nigeria Police Force and enhance its capacity to tackle the country’s growing security challenges by scrapping its six-year “sunset clause,” and raising the Fund’s statutory allocation from 0.5% to 1% of the Federation Account.
Presenting the position of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund (NPTF), its Executive Secretary, Mohammed Sheidu, said the Fund was established in 2019 to address chronic funding gaps in police training, equipment, infrastructure and personnel welfare.
He noted that while the Fund had served as a strategic intervention platform over the past six years, implementation of the Act had exposed legislative, structural and funding limitations that necessitated a more robust legal framework.
Sheidu said Nigeria’s security environment had become more complex since 2019, citing terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, cybercrime and organised criminal activities.
According to him, the proposed legislation aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda by providing a stronger institutional framework for sustainable funding of police modernisation, technology, infrastructure, training and welfare.
He described the proposed 2026 Act as timely, particularly its provision removing the Fund’s sunset clause and increasing the statutory allocation from 0.5 per cent to one per cent.
Sheidu argued that police reform and modernisation were continuous processes requiring long-term planning and investment.
The Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, represented by Imarha Reuben, said the bill would strengthen the operational capacity, efficiency and welfare of the Nigeria Police Force.
This, he said, was through sustainable funding, acquisition of modern equipment, infrastructural development and improved welfare packages.
Similarly, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Police Affairs, Anuma Nlia, said the proposed repeal and re-enactment of the Act would consolidate the gains recorded under the existing law while repositioning the Fund to respond more effectively to emerging security challenges.
He added that the NPTF had significantly enhanced police effectiveness through the construction and rehabilitation of police stations, barracks and accommodation facilities across the country.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Police Affairs, Senator Ahmad Malam Madori, stressed that a professional, well-trained, adequately funded and well-equipped police force remained indispensable for maintaining law and order and protecting democratic institutions.
He noted that, notwithstanding the Fund’s achievements, implementation of the current Act had faced challenges, including funding uncertainties and litigation arising from some of its provisions.
Malam Madori said the Executive Bill sought to address these gaps and strengthen institutional governance.
Declaring the hearing open, President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, represented by Senator Osita Ngwu, described the Nigeria Police Force as central to the nation’s internal security architecture.
He said the establishment of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund in 2019 was a bold initiative to provide sustainable supplementary funding for policing and improve the capacity, professionalism, welfare and operational readiness of the Force.
