Adeyanju Tasks New IGP on Human Rights, Police Reforms
Human rights lawyer and activist Deji Adeyanju has congratulated the newly appointed Inspector General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu, while charging him to prioritise sweeping reforms aimed at restoring professionalism, discipline and public trust in the Nigeria Police Force.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Adeyanju described Disu’s appointment as a “fresh opportunity” to reposition the police institution and rebuild its damaged public image. He urged the new police chief to make strict compliance with human rights standards the foundation of his leadership.
According to him, the Nigeria Police Force must urgently reform its internal practices, end the culture of extortion and unlawful arrests, and halt what he described as the misuse of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition and Prevention) Act to intimidate and silence dissenting voices.
Adeyanju further called on the new IGP to enforce full compliance with the President’s directive ordering the withdrawal of police personnel from VIP protection duties. He stressed that the long-standing practice of deploying officers to guard private individuals — often accompanied by unofficial financial arrangements across commands — must be decisively discontinued.
“The era of deploying police officers to VIPs must come to an end,” he stated, insisting that officers should be redeployed to core policing responsibilities in line with their constitutional mandate.
The activist also urged the Police to withdraw from involvement in purely civil matters such as land disputes, tenancy disagreements and domestic conflicts, arguing that such issues fall outside the force’s primary mandate.
Instead, he said, the Police should concentrate on tackling violent crimes including armed robbery, kidnapping, terrorism and organised criminal activities.
Adeyanju maintained that only by reclaiming its core responsibility of internal security can the Nigeria Police Force regain public confidence and re-establish itself as a respected national institution.
He concluded that the new leadership must seize the moment to institute bold reforms capable of transforming the force into a professional, accountable and citizen-focused security agency.
