In June 2023, when Kayode Egbetokun was appointed as the 22nd Inspector General of Police (IGP) by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the announcement was met without public dissent.
With a career in the Nigeria Police Force dating back to 1990 and an impressive academic background, including a PhD in Peace and Security Studies, his appointment was widely regarded as a critical opportunity for the Nigeria Police Force to embark on meaningful reform, particularly in relation to its human rights record.
The Nigeria Police Force has long struggled with a troubled human rights legacy, rooted in its colonial origins and worsened by decades of military rule. This legacy has fostered a pattern of abuses, including extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, torture, and the excessive use of force—practices that have gravely eroded public trust and compromised effective community policing. The outdated Police Act of 1947 was a key contributor to these challenges, prompting the comprehensive Police Act of 2020, which aimed to modernise the force and align it with international human rights standards. Despite these reforms, efforts to improve policing in Nigeria have often been cyclical and short-lived, highlighting deeper institutional issues, including entrenched organisational culture, chronic underfunding, and weak oversight mechanisms.
Hence, IGP Egbetokun’s tenure is characterised by the complex task of enhancing the operational capacity of the police while ensuring strict adherence to constitutional and international human rights standards.
Upon taking office, Egbetokun articulated a bold and transformative vision, which is to reshape the police force into a “modern, professional, and people-centred institution.”
His vision goes beyond operational efficiency, aiming to fundamentally shift the ethos of the police to prioritise public safety, enhance service delivery, and rebuild public trust.
He pledged to establish a “world-class, forward-thinking,” and contextually relevant training framework, designed to equip officers to serve with professionalism, dignity, and distinction. At the heart of his leadership philosophy is a steadfast commitment to upholding the “highest standards of integrity and professionalism” in every engagement.
To embed human rights principles within policing, IGP Egbetokun initiated a series of strategic reforms encompassing training, accountability, the protection of vulnerable groups, and enhanced public engagement. A cornerstone of these efforts is the comprehensive revision of the Police Force’s Training Manuals and Basic Curriculum Design. This reform seeks to align the force with the evolving nature of crime, particularly the rise of cybercrime and the influence of artificial intelligence. The updated curriculum places strong emphasis on human rights, gender sensitivity, and trauma-informed policing. It also advocates for the balanced use of dialogue alongside appropriate force, fostering ethical conduct among officers. The curriculum review has been deliberately inclusive, drawing input from a wide array of stakeholders—retired officers, serving personnel, academics, educators, civil society organisations, human rights advocates, development partners (including UNDP and the German Government), and community representatives. This multi-stakeholder approach is intended to ground the training in practical, rights-based principles of policing.
To reinforce accountability, IGP Egbetokun has issued firm warnings against the unlawful and prolonged detention of suspects, emphasising the need to uphold constitutional protections, specifically Sections 34 (right to dignity) and 35 (right to personal liberty) of the Nigerian Constitution. He cautioned that any officer found guilty of such violations would face “strict disciplinary measures” and “serious consequences,” emphasising that such abuses severely undermine public confidence in the police.
Another major reform includes the “abolition of indiscriminate case transfers” and a clear directive that police must “stay out of civil disputes, particularly land matters, unless a clear criminal element is involved.” These directives are designed to curb longstanding practices of corruption, undue delays, and the misuse of police authority by influential individuals in civil matters. State Commissioners of Police have subsequently been made fully accountable for all investigations under their jurisdiction—a move seen as a “game-changer” for internal accountability.
To curb the filing of frivolous or malicious complaints, the IGP introduced new rules requiring complainants to formally verify their petitions, with penalties for providing false information. This reform is intended to prevent the misuse of the police for personal vendettas and to conserve valuable police resources.
In a decisive move to protect vulnerable populations, the IGP approved the expansion of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Desk Offices to all police divisions nationwide. These units, previously confined to zonal and state commands, now provide prompt, specialised support at the grassroots level. Officers assigned to GBV desks are undergoing specialised training to handle such cases with care and professionalism. They will also oversee the Juvenile, Women, and Children (JWC) sections, thereby delivering a holistic support system to victims and facilitating timely justice.
Responding to longstanding public outcry, the IGP issued a directive in December 2024 halting the “unnecessary arrests and detention of youths” and the arbitrary checking of mobile phones by officers. He made it clear that any personnel, including their supervisors, engaging in such activities would be sanctioned. This directive directly addresses grievances that fuelled the #EndSARS protests, which brought global attention to police abuses in Nigeria.
Improving public trust and strengthening media relations are also an area that he prioritised. In this regard, IGP Egbetokun has publicly reaffirmed the Nigeria Police Force’s commitment to press freedom and the protection of civic space in a democratic society. He made this statement during a high-level visit by the Director-General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), where he welcomed VON’s proposal to use its platform to promote a positive image of the Police Force and counteract fake news and disinformation that undermine public trust. He also encouraged citizens to report abuses through official channels, reiterating that the actions of the police must “speak louder than our uniforms.”
In recognition of these efforts, the Nigeria Police Force was named “Most Improved Service Delivery Parastatal” in 2024 by the SERVICOM Presidency, acknowledging its commitment to enhanced public service. Positive developments have also been reported in crime reduction and rescue operations, alongside growing success in community policing initiatives.
IGP Kayode Egbetokun’s leadership has clearly marked a shift towards reform, aiming to create a professional, accountable, and rights-respecting police force. His emphasis on training reform, lawful detention practices, withdrawal from civil disputes, and protection of vulnerable groups reflects a genuine and proactive commitment to entrenching human rights across the force. These initiatives have been welcomed by segments of civil society and have earned institutional recognition.
However, the true measure of his human rights agenda will not be the volume of policy declarations or training reforms, but rather a sustained and measurable reduction in abuses and increased accountability for those who commit them.
The “smear campaigns” against him suggest that his reforms are unsettling entrenched interests—a sign of meaningful disruption, but also an indication of the resistance he must overcome.
The ultimate litmus test will be whether the Nigeria Police Force can consistently enforce its standards, even when doing so is politically or institutionally uncomfortable, and thereby dismantle the culture of impunity that has long plagued Nigerian policing.