Atrocities against the Nigerian Police: When the protectors are abandoned

By Okechukwu Nwanguma

The men and women of the Nigeria Police Force are mandated to “protect with courage” and “serve with compassion.” But who protects them? Who speaks for the police officer whose daily reality is one of neglect, humiliation, and abandonment?

Behind the uniform lies a painful truth: those who bear the brunt of Nigeria’s internal security challenges are among the most neglected, most exploited, and least rewarded public servants in the country.

*Starved of Resources, Then Blamed*

How does a Divisional Police Officer carry out patrols with five operational vehicles but no budget for fuel? When such an officer dares to ask, “Sir, how do we fuel these vehicles?” he is punished—not because he was insubordinate, but because he told an inconvenient truth. The next day, he is posted out.

The reality is that many DPOs and Area Commanders across Nigeria are given as little as ₦29,000 to ₦35,000 per quarter to run their entire formations—funds that are expected to cover:

* Fuel for patrol vehicles
* Stationery
* Feeding of detainees
* Investigation and intelligence operations
* Power supply via donated generators
* “Information money” to sources
* Dispatch of mails across police formations
* Hotel accommodation for rank-and-file on transfer

This same fund hasn’t changed significantly since the early 2010s, and no release has been made as of June 2025. Yet, officers are still expected to perform miracles.

So, they beg. They cut corners. Or they extort. And when they do, the system that starved them turns around to criminalize them.

*Death in Service, Desertion in Death*

What happens when an officer dies in the line of duty? There is no insurance payout. No welfare. No structured support for burial. In some cases, colleagues contribute money to buy caskets. When injured officers are hospitalized, it is often members of the public—not the Force—that pay their bills. There are stories of DPOs spending millions from personal funds for the treatment of wounded officers, only to be left alone, unsupported, and drained.

In contrast, military personnel who die on active duty leave behind support systems: scholarships for their children, housing assistance, and structured pensions. The police? Abandoned. Forgotten. Reduced to pitiable footnotes.

*Post-Retirement: From Badge of Honour to Bowl of Begging*

After 35 years of service, a retired DSP receives a gratuity of ₦2.5–₦3 million and monthly pensions of ₦35,000–₦40,000—a mockery when compared to their military counterparts who receive ₦13–₦15 million gratuity and ₦200,000–₦250,000 in monthly pensions.

Meanwhile, the top brass—the DIGs and IGP—retire on full salaries, a cruel display of hierarchy that betrays the principle of equity and dignity for all who serve. What is the offence of the Nigerian Police to the government and the people?

*Institutional Ethnic Bias and the Politics of Posting*

The rot runs deeper. The lopsided deployment of Commissioners of Police—almost entirely from a particular ethnic group, to the exclusion of officers from the South-East and South-South—adds another layer of injustice. The Police Service Commission (PSC) appears helpless, with its chairman reduced to a figurehead. Why? Because the Inspector-General of Police, who operationally deploys senior officers, uses that power to marginalize entire regions.

And what of political leaders from these marginalized zones? Most remain silent and complicit—too busy dining with the powerful to defend their people. Nepotism, or “kparakpor” as it is known, is destroying the soul of the Force. The police are being politically weaponized and ethnically unbalanced, eroding public trust and internal cohesion.

*A Nation That Starves Its Police Cannot Be Safe*

The Nigerian Police Force is the first responder, the backbone of internal security. If you cripple it with poverty, politicize it with ethnic favoritism, and abandon its officers in injury and death, you are not just destroying an institution—you are sabotaging national security.

We are witnessing the slow institutional murder of the Nigeria Police, not by enemies of the state, but by the very state that ought to nurture and empower it.

*What Must Be Done?*

1. *Comprehensive Welfare Reform*
Immediate increase in operational funds for divisions and formations. Ensure prompt release and transparency in allocation.

*2. Police Pension Reform*
Parity with the military in gratuities and pensions. Inclusion in group life insurance schemes with clear benefits for families of fallen officers.

3. *Medical and Burial Support*
Operationalize the Police Welfare Fund to take care of emergency medical care, hospital bills, and dignified burials for officers who die in active service.

4. *End Ethnic Marginalization in Postings*
The Police Service Commission must assert its constitutional role and halt the ethnically skewed postings that breed disaffection and undermine professionalism.

5. *Hold Political Leaders Accountable*
Elected officials from marginalized regions must be compelled by civil society to demand justice and equity for their people in police affairs.

6. *Let the Police Speak*
Review the gag on officers. Police personnel must be protected when they whistleblow or speak about institutional neglect and injustice.

*Support the Protest*

If retired officers, after decades of service, decide to protest the injustice they’ve suffered, they deserve not condemnation, but support. Buy them water. Join their walk. Share their stories. The fight to restore dignity to the police is a fight to save Nigeria itself.

Because no society can thrive when its protectors are starving, suffering, and silenced.