Nigeria’s Inspector-General of Police is done waiting.
IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu stepped in front of his most senior officers on Tuesday and delivered a message that was equal parts warning and war plan — directed at the criminals running through the country’s security gaps, and at the officers who must close them.
The meeting, held at Force Headquarters, Abuja, brought together Commissioners of Police and above from across all 36 states and the FCT. It was convened at one of the most difficult moments for internal security in recent memory — with schoolchildren still missing in Oyo State, communities terrorised in the North, and public confidence in policing under serious strain.
Plates, Patrols, and a Nationwide Crackdown
The most immediately impactful directive to come out of Tuesday’s meeting was a nationwide order: any vehicle on Nigerian roads without a number plate, or with a plate that has been deliberately concealed, defaced, or altered, will be stopped and impounded — no exceptions.
“There shall be no preferential treatment or selective enforcement,” Disu made clear.
The IGP told his commanders that security agencies had been observing a growing pattern of criminals deliberately removing or obscuring vehicle plates to avoid identification — a tactic that has featured in kidnapping operations across multiple states. The crackdown is designed to close that loophole at the road level, before crimes are committed rather than after.
He also ordered Commissioners of Police across the country to immediately deploy patrol teams at all entry and exit points in their states — and introduced what he called “handshake patrols” along shared borders between neighbouring states, a strategy designed to close the jurisdictional gaps that criminal networks routinely exploit.
In the coming days, Deputy Inspectors-General of Police will be deployed across all six geopolitical zones starting June 15, to personally supervise enforcement operations and ensure compliance at the state level.
The Oyo Abduction — Still Unresolved
The meeting came weeks after one of the most disturbing attacks on civilian life in recent times — the May 15 raid on Baptist Nursery and Primary Schools in Oriire Local Government Area, Oyo State, where armed men simultaneously stormed two schools and abducted approximately 46 pupils and teachers.
A presidential delegation that included National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, Minister of Defence General Christopher Musa, Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila and the IGP himself had already travelled to Oyo in response to the attack. But the victims remain in captivity.
On Tuesday, Disu addressed the nation’s patience directly.
“The families and citizens of Nigeria can rely on the full operational capacity of the Force, in collaboration with other security agencies, dedicated to ensuring their safe return. We are making headway and will not cease our efforts until all hostages are safely home,” he said.
He personally condemned the abduction, describing the targeting of schools as cruel and unacceptable, and assured that officers were working round the clock on the rescue.
Collaboration Is the Strategy
Disu’s broader message to his commanders went beyond tactics. His central argument was structural: Nigeria cannot be policed by one agency working in isolation. The Nigeria Police Force, as the lead internal security agency, must build and sustain genuine working relationships — with sister agencies, with community leaders, with the media, and with state-level commands.
He called on senior officers to hold town hall meetings in their host communities, arguing that security intelligence only flows when people feel comfortable enough to share what they know.
“We must strengthen our leadership responses to these security threats,” he said. “We will not waver until the abducted school teachers and students are rescued and reunited with their families.”
One Month of Operations — The Numbers
The IGP also gave a one-month operational scorecard. In the period under review, the Nigeria Police Force arrested 29 suspected armed robbers and 55 kidnapping suspects, seized 843 arms and rounds of ammunition, and recovered 23 vehicles, among other achievements.
The numbers represent real operations in real communities. But against the backdrop of the Oyo abductions and the broader security situation across the country, many Nigerians will measure the Force not by arrests made, but by whether the children taken from their classrooms come home safely.
Disu says they will. He is now putting his most senior officers on notice to make sure of it.