Disu Takes The Helm, Vows To End Impunity, Fast-Track Police Reforms
Leadership change in Nigeria’s police often raises a familiar question: will reform survive the handover?
At the Force Headquarters, the transition from the outgoing Inspector-General IGP Kayode Egbetokun to IGP Olatunji Disu offered two clear signals, the gains of reform must be accelerated, and the era of looking the other way is over.
In his farewell, the outgoing IGP warned against cosmetic change, insisting the Police must build on intelligence-led policing, digital crime-tracking, modernised tactics and tougher internal accountability.
He said recent operations disrupted kidnapping networks and violent syndicates, while officer welfare, from promotions to insurance and housing, was central to restoring morale.
His charge to his successor was blunt: progress must not pause; it must accelerate.
Disu picked up the baton with a harder edge. Declaring that it was “not yet time to be congratulated”, the new police chief told officers and Nigerians that the burden of command demands results, not applause.
He acknowledged the Force’s courage and professionalism, but did not shy away from uncomfortable truths, a trust deficit with communities, outdated systems, resource gaps and pockets of misconduct that have stained the badge.
Anchoring his tenure on three pillars, professionalism and modernisation, accountability and integrity, and community partnership, Disu vowed to push intelligence-led policing, forensic investigation and digital tools, while warning that intimidation, shortcuts and abuse of power would no longer be tolerated.
In a line likely to echo across commands nationwide, he declared: “The days of impunity are over,” promising consequences for misconduct at every rank.
To Nigerians, Disu asked for partnership rather than blind trust, urging citizens to report crime, engage local officers and hold the Service accountable.
Community policing, he said, must move from slogan to practice, with officers present in markets, schools and neighbourhoods, not as enforcers alone, but as partners in safety.
With resistance to reform expected and hard choices ahead, the message from the handover was clear: the Police are at a crossroads.
Whether the promise of accelerated reform and zero tolerance for impunity translates into safer streets will be the real test of this new chapter.
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