Nigerian human rights lawyer and lead counsel to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor, has praised the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, for initiating reforms within the Nigeria Police Force.
Ejiofor, in a statement issued on Wednesday titled “Midweek Musings: Tiger Base, Owerri, The Eye of the Storm: Restructuring Tactical Units Across the State, Among Other Reforms, as a Transformative Tempest Unleashed by IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, Heralding the Long-Awaited Rebirth of the Nigeria Police Force,” said IGP Disu has demonstrated preparedness and resolve.
According to him, in stark contrast to the past, the present leadership under IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu has shown a commendable immediacy of action.
He said that within a remarkably short span, reforms have been initiated that far exceed public expectations.
The human rights lawyer noted that the narrative surrounding notorious formations, including Tiger Base, Owerri, and others of similar ill repute, is decisively shifting, as they are now being restructured.
He added that it would seem that, at long last, someone in authority is not merely hearing, but truly listening.
“One is tempted to ponder: should this trajectory be sustained, unimpeded by the familiar distractions of political interference, even for a year, the Nigeria Police Force may well witness a complete and remarkable restoration of its public image.
What the Inspector-General requires at this critical juncture is not cynicism, but constructive encouragement and unwavering public support. Nigerians must rally behind this renewed vision, confident that genuine reform, though long delayed, is not beyond reach,” he said.
Ejiofor further stated that there has long persisted a widely held conviction, particularly among discerning members of the public, that confidence in the Nigeria Police Force has not merely waned but has been profoundly eroded.
He observed that it is therefore unsurprising that many have maintained that, while the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force possesses the latent capacity to transform its battered image—from that of a notoriously compromised institution into a truly dignified and professional outfit—what had been conspicuously absent was the political will to wield the proverbial sledgehammer of reform.
“Yet, in what may well be described, without the slightest exaggeration, as a reformatory tsunami, the sweeping and far-reaching institutional changes currently being championed by the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, signal a most refreshing departure. Evidently, he is no accidental occupant of office; rather, he appears to have assumed this role with clarity of purpose, strategic foresight, and commendable resolve.
“Who, until recently, would have believed that those once ‘forbidden zones’ within the policing architecture—infamous for the infliction of grave harm, systemic abuse, and egregious violations of citizens’ fundamental rights—would be restructured with such decisiveness? Places where, in some harrowing instances, innocent citizens were treated with a degree of expendability unbefitting of any civilised society, cut down without accountability, as though human life bore no greater value than that of common fowl.
“Today, however, the narrative is shifting. The notorious formations, including Tiger Base, Owerri, and others of similar ill repute, have been decisively restructured. One cannot help but observe, perhaps with a tinge of justified sarcasm, that the cries of the masses—so long ignored or conveniently dismissed by previous leadership—have suddenly acquired an audible resonance. It would seem that, at long last, someone in authority is not merely hearing, but listening.
“Contrast this with the not-so-distant past, where grave allegations made openly and publicly by a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria were treated with astonishing indifference. In a widely televised account, a former governor, now a minister, recounted his deeply troubling encounter with a named police officer, whom he accused of leading a notorious killer squad in Rivers State. One might have expected such a weighty allegation to trigger an immediate and transparent investigation. Instead, it was met with a most disconcerting wave of institutional nonchalance. The accused officer, far from being scrutinised, continued to operate within the system, unperturbed and unaccountable.
“Such episodes can only be described as emblematic of gross institutional complacency, if not outright recklessness, deserving of rigorous interrogation.
“In stark contrast, the present leadership under IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu has demonstrated a commendable immediacy of action. Within a remarkably short span, reforms have been initiated that far exceed public expectations. One is tempted to ponder: should this trajectory be sustained, unimpeded by the familiar distractions of political interference, even for a year, the Nigeria Police Force may well witness a complete and remarkable restoration of its public image.
“What the Inspector-General requires at this critical juncture is not cynicism, but constructive encouragement and unwavering public support. Nigerians must rally behind this renewed vision, confident that genuine reform, though long delayed, is not beyond reach.
“Furthermore, it is imperative that a comprehensive inventory be undertaken of the grievous infractions perpetrated within these now-defunct formations. Accountability must not be sacrificed at the altar of reform. Those who, under the guise of uniform, operated as instruments of terror must be called to account. Justice, after all, is the enduring foundation upon which institutional credibility is built.
“In conclusion, one can only urge the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Disu, to remain steadfast, resolute, and unrelenting in the discharge of this noble and proactive mandate. The road to reform is seldom smooth, but history invariably favours those who persevere with courage and integrity.”
