Herculean Tasks Before Tunji Disu

Femi Akintunde-Johnson

When an institution and the citizens it is meant to protect begin to look at each other with mutual suspicion, something fundamental has broken. That, in plain language, is the present chord between Nigerians and the Nigeria Police Force: stretched, frayed and perilously close to snapping.

Most Nigerians do not see the police as friends. They do not instinctively run towards an officer in distress; they step aside, wary. The uniform evokes not reassurance but calculation. “How do I avoid trouble?” has replaced “How do I get help?” That inversion is tragic for any republic.

Into this brittle atmosphere steps Acting Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, decorated by President Bola Tinubu with the charge to make the Force “better than he met it”. The President spoke of discipline, professionalism and restored public confidence. Disu, visibly moved, promised zero tolerance for corruption and an end to impunity. Fine words. Necessary words. But in Nigeria, words have long competed unsuccessfully with experience.

Let us be honest about that experience. For years, the Nigeria Police has been dogged by allegations and documented cases of brutality, torture, extrajudicial killings, misuse of firearms, extortion at checkpoints and collusion with criminal elements. Banditry, terrorism and kidnapping have flourished in parts of the country despite heavy deployments. The #EndSARS protests did not emerge from thin air; they were the eruption of accumulated grievance.

Even recruitment has been questioned. The disturbing perception – sometimes echoed by insiders – is that the process is compromised by patronage, local politics and insufficient psychological vetting. It has been alleged that community recommendations sometimes prioritise loyalty over suitability. When standards slip at the entry gate, the rot does not remain at the gate; it walks in, armed.

Disu is not unaware of this terrain. Born in 1966, enlisted in 1992, he has served across operational commands, notably as Commander of the Rapid Response Squad in Lagos, and later as head of the Intelligence Response Team. He inherits not just Africa’s largest police force, but arguably one of its most distrusted.

The tasks before him are immediate, short-term and structural. Immediately, he must signal that the era of performative discipline is over. Internal affairs mechanisms must move from ornamental to operational. Officers credibly accused of misconduct must face swift, transparent investigations. Outcomes should not be whispered within barracks; they should be communicated to the public. If a constable extorts, the nation must know he has been sanctioned. If a senior officer abuses authority, rank must not become insurance.

Short-term, the Force requires retraining on a scale that borders on revolutionary. Human rights compliance cannot be a PowerPoint slide at a workshop; it must be a measurable performance metric. Intelligence-led policing, forensic capacity, digital evidence handling and data-driven crime mapping should cease being aspirational buzzwords. Criminals have modernised. The police cannot continue with analogue reflexes in a digital age.

Welfare also demands urgent attention. Poor remuneration, dilapidated barracks and inadequate equipment create fertile ground for corruption. An officer who cannot feed his family is more vulnerable to compromise. Reforming welfare is not indulgence; it is strategy.

Beyond the operational lies the philosophical: the police must relearn their role. They are not an occupying force. They are not revenue collectors. They are not enforcers for the powerful. Constitutionally, their mandate is clear – protection of life and property, prevention and detection of crime, maintenance of public order and enforcement of law. In practice, that clarity has often blurred.

Disu has said the citizen is the boss. That statement must not remain ceremonial. Community policing should move beyond slogans. Local engagement forums, transparent complaint channels and civil society partnerships must become routine. Trust is built in small, consistent interactions – not grand speeches at Force Headquarters.

And then there is 2027. The next general elections will test the police’s neutrality and professionalism. In previous cycles, security agencies have been accused of partisanship, selective enforcement and intimidation. If the police are seen as extensions of political machinery rather than guardians of order, public confidence will erode further. Disu must draw a bright, unmistakable line between policing and politicking.

Yet even the most determined IGP operates within structural constraints. Nigeria runs a centralised police system in a vast, heterogeneous federation. Calls for state policing have grown louder, driven by arguments that localised forces would respond more effectively to community-specific threats. Critics warn of potential abuse by state governors. Proponents argue that decentralisation, with proper safeguards, enhances accountability and responsiveness.

This debate can no longer be postponed. Fast-tracking constitutional amendments towards a carefully designed state policing framework deserves serious, bipartisan engagement. A hybrid model – combining federal standards with state-level operational autonomy – may offer a path forward. Oversight mechanisms, independent complaint commissions and funding guarantees must be embedded to prevent abuse.

Centralisation has not insulated the Force from politicisation; it has merely concentrated its vulnerabilities. Disu’s tenure, potentially extending to 2030 under the amended Police Act’s four-year provision, provides a window for meaningful reform. But time alone does not guarantee transformation. Leadership must be matched by political will, budgetary commitment and legislative support.

President Tinubu has pledged full backing. That support must translate into more than ceremonial decoration. It must include resources for training, technology, welfare and independent oversight. It must also include tolerance for uncomfortable reforms that may unsettle entrenched interests within and outside the Force.

There is also the matter of succession culture. Disu’s elevation reportedly triggers the retirement of several senior officers, in line with tradition. Institutional continuity should not become collateral damage of hierarchy. Reform must outlive personalities.

Ultimately, the Herculean task before Disu is not merely crime reduction. It is moral rehabilitation. He must persuade Nigerians that the badge symbolises service, not swagger. That a checkpoint is for safety, not settlement. That reporting a crime will not result in secondary victimisation. That the rule of law is not elastic depending on the suspect’s connections.

This will not be achieved overnight. Decades of distrust cannot be erased by a single tenure. But visible, consistent change can begin to soften hardened perceptions.

Nigeria does not need a perfect police force. It needs a professional one – disciplined, accountable, modern and humane. If Disu succeeds even partially, he will not only justify the President’s confidence; he will restore a measure of faith in an institution essential to any functioning democracy.

If he fails, God forbid, the gulf between uniform and citizen may widen beyond easy repair. And that is a risk no serious nation should contemplate lightly.