The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu, has assured Nigerians that the Nigeria Police Force will maintain professionalism before, during and after the 2027 general election.
Disu said the conduct of police officers during the polls would make Nigerians proud of the Force.
He gave the assurance in Port Harcourt on Tuesday while speaking with journalists after the launch of The Origin of Women in Nigeria Police Force, a book written by 96-year-old Dame Stella Okuyiga, a retired Deputy Commissioner of Police and one of the 20 pioneer female officers of the Force.
Responding to questions about police preparations for the 2027 elections, Disu said the Force had held a conference with commissioners of police and other senior officers to strengthen its readiness for the polls.
“I want to let you know that we just finished a conference of all commissioners of police and other senior officers,” he said.
The IGP explained that lessons from recent elections had been reviewed to identify areas of strength and shortcomings ahead of the next general election.
“We have had two or three elections recently, and you can see that the police came very well and we did so well. We now brought all these experiences together, where we did well and where we did not do well, so that we can perform better in this big election that everybody is looking up to,” he said.
Disu added: “I give you my word. Nigeria Police will do so well, and we will make Nigeria Police so proud, and we will make Nigerians proud.”
On Okuyiga’s book, the police chief praised the retired officer for documenting her experiences and institutional knowledge for future generations of female police officers.
He noted that Okuyiga joined the Force in 1955 as one of its first female officers and said her achievements deserved to be preserved.
“Mama is 96 years old and she has taken her time to put all her experience, institutional knowledge that she has down in the book for us to be able to study it for generation coming for women police in the next generation coming to have something to look up to,” Disu said.
He added that the Force would obtain copies of the book for its training institutions to help officers understand the history and experiences of their predecessors.
“We in the police, we are starting up the history of not leaving our own, not forgetting our own,” he said.
In her remarks, Okuyiga expressed joy that the book would preserve her experiences and allow her legacy to endure beyond her lifetime.
She described the launch as an important moment in her life, saying she was pleased that the publication would be available in libraries and read by people around the world.
“So I’m so happy that with all that is happening today, I will continue to live forever,” she said.
