Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, has sought to calm fears among officers over Nigeria’s proposed state police system where he assured personnel that decentralised policing will not cost them their jobs, ranks, benefits, or professional standing.
Disu gave the assurance on Sunday, August 30, 2026, in an address to members of the Nigeria Police Force, as debate over the proposed restructuring of policing gathers pace across the country.
The IGP acknowledged that the prospect of state-controlled police services had caused concern among some officers, particularly over what a new policing arrangement could mean for their careers.
“I want you to put your mind at rest. It is not affecting our work at all,” Disu said. “We are not going to lose your work. We are not going to lose your rank. We are not going to lose your prestige.”
Rather than viewing the reform as a threat to the existing force, Disu said officers could emerge from the arrangement in a stronger position.
“We are going to come out of it better than we are at this moment,” he said.
His comments are significant because the proposed system would introduce state police alongside the Nigeria Police Force, creating a dual policing structure in which policing responsibilities would be shared between federal and state authorities.
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New Daily Prime reported on August 26, 2026, that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had backed such an arrangement, under which states with the capacity and willingness to do so would establish their own police services while the Federal Government retained a national force for federal responsibilities and crimes crossing state boundaries.
The President’s position was presented by his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, at the 66th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Port Harcourt.
Gbajabiamila said the proposal was intended to bring policing closer to communities and address the limitations of relying on a single centrally commanded institution across Nigeria’s large and diverse territory.
Disu, however, made clear that the proposed arrangement would not displace the federal police as the country’s principal policing institution.
“The Nigerian Police Force remains number one policing institution in this country,” he said.
He added that responsibility for internal security would still rest with the force.
The IGP also addressed concerns that state police could be manipulated or deployed for purposes beyond legitimate policing. He said such risks had been considered in the model being developed for Nigeria.
“A lot of people are worried that, yes, it can go out of hand. Yes, they can use it this way or that way. All of that has been covered,” Disu said.
He disclosed that the police had examined state-policing arrangements in other countries before adapting elements considered suitable to Nigeria.
“We have understudied state police in a lot of other countries,” he explained. “We did not just go out to copy what is happening anywhere.”
Disu also warned officers against allowing speculation about the reform to interfere with their responsibilities. He called on personnel to continue serving with discipline and professionalism and to uphold the Constitution and laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
He further assured officers that their welfare, careers, pensions, benefits, and legitimate professional expectations were receiving attention.
“Your welfare, your career, professional standing, pension, benefits and legitimate expectations remain matters of serious concern to me as your Inspector General of Police,” Disu said.
The assurance places the welfare of serving officers at the centre of the transition debate, even as policymakers work towards changes required to establish state police within Nigeria’s constitutional framework.
