Tinubu Signs Police Training Institutions Bill into law, Creates 48 Specialised Academies Nationwide

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has signed the Nigeria Police Training Institutions (Establishment) Bill, 2024 into law.

The Act gives clear legal backing to 48 police training institutions and sets common rules for how officers are recruited, trained, re-trained and certified across the country. Senator Ahmed Abdulhamid Malam-Madori sponsored the bill.

To make planning and funding easier, the Act places all police schools into five groups: Police Colleges, Police Training Schools, Police Tactical Schools, Police Technical Training Schools, and other specialised institutions.

This structure helps the force run basic courses for recruits, advanced courses for supervisors, and specialist programmes for units with unique duties.

The institutions are spread across the six geopolitical zones so that every command can send officers for the right training without long travel or delays. The law also links training standards nationwide, so a certificate from one school means the same as a certificate from any other.

Key colleges now recognised

Major colleges now written into law include the Police Colleges in Ikeja (Lagos), Kaduna (Kaduna), Maiduguri (Borno) and Oji River (Enugu). The Police Staff College in Jos (Plateau) and the Police Detective College in Enugu also have statutory recognition. These centres handle foundational training and leadership development.

Tactical schools for high-risk units

Elite schools named in the Act train officers for dangerous or specialised operations. They include Mobile Training Schools in Gwoza (Borno), Ila-Orangun (Osun) and Ende-Hill (Nasarawa); Counter-Terrorism Unit (CTU) Schools in Nonwa-Tai (Rivers) and Gombe; and the Special Protection Unit (SPU) School in Kafin Hausa (Jigawa).

Other centres build niche skills such as the K9 Training School (Bukuru-Jos), the Mounted Troop Training School (Jos), the Marine Training School (Toru-Orua, Bayelsa), and a Pre-Retirement Training School (Kudan, Kaduna) to help officers transition after service.

Technical and specialist training

The technical stream covers skills that support modern policing. The Act recognises the Police Public Relations School (Lafia, with an Abuja campus), the Central Planning and Training Unit (Jos), the Police School of Intelligence (Shere, Kwara), Schools of Communication (Kudan and Ikeja), the Police School of Music and Driving School (Ikeja), and the Police Veterinary Training School (Abuja).

Newer specialist institutions also have legal backing, including the Institute of Digital Studies and Cyber Security (Abeokuta, Ogun), the Police School of Nursing and Midwifery (Ezimo, Enugu), the National Institute of Police Studies (Life Camp, Abuja), the Short Service Training Institute (Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom), and the Police School of Finance and Administration (Umueri, Anambra).