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The Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) has reviewed recent developments in Nigeria’s policing and human-rights landscape. These developments raise important questions about the future structure of policing, the welfare of serving and retired officers, conditions in police custody, the effectiveness of oversight institutions and the enforcement of court judgments against police authorities.
Although some of the developments suggest movement towards reform, official promises must be measured against actual implementation, transparency and remedies for victims.
State Police: Decentralisation Must Not Reproduce Existing Abuses
The proposed constitutional amendment providing for the establishment of state police services has been transmitted to the 36 state Houses of Assembly. As of 6 October 2026, Edo, Oyo, Osun and Rivers States were reported to have approved the proposal. Approval by at least 24 state Houses of Assembly is required for the constitutional alteration process to advance.
RULAAC has consistently supported the decentralisation of policing in principle. Nigeria’s highly centralised police system is overstretched and often unable to respond effectively to local security conditions. Properly designed state police services could improve local knowledge, response time and community participation in security governance.
However, decentralisation without strong safeguards may simply decentralise abuse.
The central question is not merely whether states should have police services. It is whether those services will be protected from capture by governors, political parties and other powerful interests.
The Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill has identified national standards covering recruitment, vetting, training, remuneration, pensions, custody management, firearms control, complaints, discipline, independent oversight and financial sustainability. These are necessary safeguards, but the proposed operational legislation containing them has not been made fully available for public scrutiny.
RULAAC therefore calls for:
1. Immediate publication of the draft National Policing Bill.
2. Public hearings by the state Houses of Assembly before they vote on the constitutional amendment.
3. A genuinely independent oversight system at federal and state levels, insulated from executive and partisan control.
4. Clear national minimum standards governing recruitment, training, salaries, custody, use of force, discipline, complaints and human-rights compliance.
5. Demonstrable financial and institutional readiness before any state police service is permitted to commence operations.
6. A phased transition that prevents rushed deployment for political purposes ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Constitutional approval should not automatically translate into immediate deployment. No state police service should become operational until credible safeguards against political persecution, discriminatory enforcement, torture, arbitrary detention and election-related misuse have been established.
Police Pensions: Government Must Clarify the Fate of the Bill
Recent statements by the Federal Government, the National Pension Commission and NPF Pensions Limited have created further uncertainty about the future of police pensions.
On 5 October, the Federal Ministry of Police Affairs acknowledged the demand by retired officers for the Nigeria Police Force to leave the Contributory Pension Scheme. The Ministry also acknowledged the legislation reportedly passed by the National Assembly to establish a dedicated Police Pension Board.
At the same time, NPF Pensions stated that a presidential committee was considering measures to improve the benefits of retired officers within the existing contributory scheme. PenCom has similarly referred to presidential instructions to resolve the police-pension problem.
The public is therefore confronted with three possible policy directions:
– Assent to the Police Pension Board Bill;
– Complete withdrawal of the police from the Contributory Pension Scheme; or
– Retention of the police under the scheme, with increased contributions and improved benefits.
The government has not clearly stated which option it has adopted.
RULAAC is concerned that discussions about increasing pension payments may be used to avoid answering the fundamental question of what happened to the bill reportedly passed by the National Assembly and transmitted for presidential assent.
The government must disclose:
1. When the bill was transmitted to the President.
2. Whether the President has assented to, withheld assent from or returned the bill.
3. The membership and terms of reference of the presidential committee examining police pensions.
4. Whether serving and retired police officers are represented in the decision-making process.
5. The financial implications and sustainability of each proposed pension arrangement.
There must also be an independent and transparent examination of allegations concerning the administration of police pension funds, including management charges, investment performance, complaints, delayed payments and the accountability of pension-fund managers.
Police officers deserve adequate remuneration while serving and a dignified retirement. Police welfare is not separate from police reform. Poor pay, uncertain benefits and inadequate pensions undermine morale and may contribute to corruption and extortion. But welfare reform must be transparent, sustainable and developed with the participation of those directly affected.
Japheth Njoku: The Coroner’s Findings Must Be Implemented
The findings of the Coroner’s Court concerning the death of 32-year-old Japheth Njoku in police custody at Tiger Base, Owerri, constitute an important test of the government’s commitment to police accountability.
Njoku was reportedly held for approximately six weeks. The coroner found that his prolonged detention and the inhuman conditions under which he was held contributed to the deterioration of his health and eventual death.
The court reportedly recommended, among other measures:
– Prosecution of officers found implicated in alleged extortion and corruption;
– Compensation and other support for Njoku’s family;
– Transfer of officers serving at the facility;
– Installation of CCTV cameras in police detention facilities;
– Improved training on the Police Act and criminal-justice legislation; and
– Measures to prevent prolonged and unlawful detention.
These findings correspond with broader evidence of abuse in police detention facilities, including overcrowding, inadequate sanitation, denial of healthcare, prolonged detention, demands for money before release and weak custody records.
Japheth Njoku entered police custody alive. His death cannot be treated as an administrative inconvenience.
RULAAC calls on the Inspector-General of Police, the Police Service Commission, the Imo State Commissioner of Police and the Attorney-General of Imo State to publish a clear implementation plan for the coroner’s recommendations.
There should also be an independent investigation into reported attempts to obstruct the court-ordered autopsy or intimidate witnesses.
RULAAC will monitor implementation of the recommendations, including criminal investigation and prosecution, disciplinary proceedings, compensation, personnel transfers, installation of CCTV systems and improvements in custody management.
The authorities reportedly have three months to implement the recommendations. Silence or inaction during this period would reinforce the perception that even judicially established police misconduct attracts no meaningful consequences.
NHRC Figures Confirm a Systemic Human-Rights Crisis
The National Human Rights Commission’s August 2026 Human Rights Situation Dashboard, published on 5 October, recorded 297,943 complaints across the country. Of these, 92,144 were classified under law enforcement and human dignity.
The Commission also reported 103 visits to police stations, correctional centres and other places of detention, as well as 31 summonses or letters issued to the Nigeria Police Force.
These figures demonstrate that violations connected with law enforcement are not isolated incidents. They point to a structural problem requiring institutional remedies.
However, complaint figures alone do not show whether victims received justice. Nigerians also need to know:
– How many complaints were investigated;
– How many were substantiated;
– How many officers were disciplined or prosecuted;
– How many victims received compensation or other remedies;
– Which police formations repeatedly generated complaints; and
– Whether detention visits produced measurable improvements.
RULAAC calls on the NHRC to publish disaggregated data by state, police formation, nature of violation, sex and age of victims, status of investigation and remedy obtained.
The NHRC should also publish compliance indicators showing how police authorities respond to its summonses, letters, findings and recommendations.
This information would strengthen the recently established NHRC–NPF Joint Liaison Framework and enable the public to determine whether the initiative is producing real changes in police stations and detention facilities.
Court Judgments Must Not Become Empty Victories
A Federal High Court in Lagos has reportedly ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria to disclose details of Police Service Commission accounts in connection with the enforcement of a ₦100 million damages judgment.
The underlying case arose from the reported killing of a pastor’s wife and the shooting of her husband by a police officer in 2015.
The case illustrates a wider problem: victims may spend years obtaining judgments against police authorities, only to encounter further obstacles when they attempt to enforce those judgments.
A favourable judgment that remains unpaid does not provide an effective remedy.
RULAAC calls for the establishment of a transparent mechanism for implementing court judgments arising from police misconduct. Such a mechanism should ensure timely compensation for victims while preserving disciplinary, criminal and recovery proceedings against individual officers found responsible.
The Federal Government, the Nigeria Police Force and the Police Service Commission should also publish information on outstanding judgments, amounts awarded, sums paid and reasons for any delays.
Reform Must Be Measured by Results
Nigeria already has the Police Act 2020, the Anti-Torture Act, the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, the Police Service Commission, the National Human Rights Commission and internal police complaint mechanisms.
The central problem is no longer simply the absence of laws or institutions. It is the persistent failure to enforce existing laws, implement findings, discipline offending officers, compensate victims and make official decision-making transparent.
*RULAAC therefore urges the government and relevant institutions to prioritise:*
1. Publication and public scrutiny of the National Policing Bill.
2. Transparent resolution of the Police Pension Board Bill and police-pension controversy.
3. Full implementation of the Japheth Njoku coroner’s recommendations.
4. Publication of disaggregated NHRC complaint, compliance and remedy data.
5. Effective enforcement of court judgments arising from police misconduct.
6. Independent monitoring of police detention facilities.
7. Digital custody registers, audiovisual recording of interrogations and properly safeguarded CCTV systems.
8. Early access to lawyers, relatives and medical assistance for persons in custody.
9. Criminal investigation—not merely internal disciplinary action—where police conduct may constitute torture, extortion, unlawful killing or other offences.
Police reform will not be judged by committees, policy documents and public assurances alone. It will be judged by whether people are safer in police custody, whether complaints produce remedies, whether offending officers face appropriate consequences, whether retired officers receive dignified benefits and whether new policing structures are prevented from becoming instruments of political oppression.
