By: L . Stone
Nigeria’s Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu, has reinforced the importance of closer cooperation between police officers and influential community leaders, including traditional rulers and religious figures, as the Nigeria Police Force seeks to strengthen community-based approaches to tackling insecurity.
The message, attributed to the police chief as a charge to officers, emphasised that effective policing cannot depend exclusively on officers, patrol vehicles or conventional security structures. Instead, police personnel were encouraged to understand the communities in which they operate and develop relationships with traditional rulers, chief imams, pastors and other figures capable of providing local knowledge and encouraging cooperation.
“You must know the traditional rulers, chief imams and pastors. Without them, we can’t succeed as police,” the IGP was quoted as telling officers. The remarks reflect a broader community-policing strategy repeatedly promoted by the current police leadership, although Stone Reporters News has not independently established the complete context in which the specific quoted wording was delivered.
The Nigeria Police Force has, however, formally directed Commissioners of Police across the country to deepen engagement with traditional rulers, religious leaders and community organisations. At an emergency conference with senior police commanders in Abuja on May 5, Disu ordered Commissioners to strengthen community policing through regular town hall meetings and make their contact information accessible to community leaders.
That directive provides important context for the latest remarks. Police authorities increasingly view community leaders as potential sources of early information about criminal activity, emerging disputes and suspicious movements that might otherwise escape the attention of conventional security agencies.
The strategy has become particularly relevant as Nigeria confronts multiple security challenges, including kidnapping, banditry, communal violence, armed robbery and other forms of organised crime. Many incidents occur in communities where traditional and religious institutions maintain longstanding networks and substantial influence among residents.
Disu reinforced that position at the North-West Security Summit in Gusau, Zamfara State, on August 19. According to an official police statement, he told participants that no security agency, government or institution could secure the region alone and called for stronger intelligence sharing, community engagement, interstate cooperation and coordinated security operations.
The summit brought together governors, traditional rulers, security chiefs, civil society representatives, experts and development partners to discuss banditry, kidnapping, arms proliferation, communal conflicts and farmer-herder tensions. Disu specifically highlighted the importance of traditional institutions and local communities in providing credible intelligence and supporting crime prevention efforts.
Similar engagements have taken place elsewhere. During a June visit to Jigawa State, the IGP called for stronger collaboration between traditional institutions, security agencies and local communities. He also attended a meeting of the Northern Traditional Rulers’ Council, where he acknowledged the role of traditional leaders in peacebuilding, dialogue and national unity.
In Anambra State later that month, the police leadership again promoted cooperation with community stakeholders. A security engagement in Awka brought together traditional rulers, representatives of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, vigilante organisations, transport unions, civil society groups, representatives of northern communities, security agencies and government officials. The IGP was represented at the meeting by the Deputy Inspector-General responsible for the South-East.
The emphasis on religious leaders is also significant in a country where mosques and churches remain important institutions of community organisation. Imams and pastors often interact directly with residents, families and community organisations, potentially placing them in a position to encourage peaceful dispute resolution, discourage criminal behaviour and promote cooperation with legitimate security agencies.
Police engagement with religious institutions must nevertheless operate within Nigeria’s constitutional framework and professional policing standards. Religious or traditional authority does not replace the responsibility of law-enforcement agencies to investigate crimes independently, protect citizens regardless of their faith or ethnicity and operate according to established law.
The IGP has previously warned against ethnic and religious profiling. During the August North-West security summit, he stressed that criminality should not be attributed to an ethnic group and terrorism should not be associated with a religion, while calling for security agencies to concentrate on identifying criminal networks, sponsors, arms suppliers, informants and facilitators.
That distinction becomes particularly important as Nigeria continues discussions about the future structure of policing, including proposals for state police. Supporters of decentralised policing argue that officers operating closer to communities could understand local languages, geography, social structures and security threats better than personnel deployed from distant parts of the country.
Opponents and sceptics have raised concerns about political interference, funding, accountability and the possibility that state-level police structures could be misused by governors or other powerful political actors. Those questions mean that any eventual state-police framework would require safeguards defining recruitment, command, oversight, funding and relationships with federal security agencies.
Community policing and state police, however, are not necessarily the same concept. Community policing generally seeks closer cooperation between existing law-enforcement structures and residents, while state policing would involve a more fundamental restructuring of Nigeria’s policing architecture and the distribution of constitutional authority.
Traditional institutions have long played informal roles in Nigeria’s security system. Previous police administrations have sought their cooperation in crime prevention, conflict resolution and intelligence gathering. In 2016, for example, the police leadership publicly sought assistance from traditional rulers in preventing and controlling crime within their communities.
The current leadership appears determined to institutionalise that relationship more deeply. During a strategic engagement in Benue State in July, Disu met stakeholders including traditional rulers, religious leaders, youth and women representatives and farmers’ organisations while discussing security challenges, particularly farmer-herder violence.
The approach reflects a fundamental reality confronting policing in Nigeria: security agencies frequently depend on information from residents to identify suspects, understand local disputes and detect potential threats before violence occurs.
For police commanders and divisional officers, the IGP’s message therefore goes beyond ceremonial visits to palaces, churches or mosques. Effective community engagement requires sustained communication, public confidence and mechanisms through which residents can provide information without exposing themselves to unnecessary danger.
It also places responsibility on the police to ensure that information received from community figures is assessed professionally rather than accepted without investigation. Traditional rulers and religious leaders can support security efforts, but criminal investigations and enforcement decisions remain the responsibility of legally constituted authorities.
As debate over state police continues, Disu’s emphasis on traditional rulers, imams, pastors and community organisations points towards a policing philosophy in which security personnel are expected to understand the societies they serve rather than operate separately from them.
The central message is that intelligence, trust and local relationships are becoming increasingly important to Nigeria’s security strategy. For the police leadership, officers may carry the legal authority to enforce the law, but successfully protecting communities requires cooperation from the people who understand those communities best.
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