The Inspector General of Police, Olatunji Disu, has said the conduct of police personnel before, during and after the 2027 general elections would make Nigerians happy and proud of the force.
He assured Nigerians that police would ensure professionalism during the forthcoming poll.
Disu stated this while fielding questions from newsmen after the launch of a book, “The Origin of Women in Nigeria Police Force,” written by 96-year-old Stella Okuyiga DCP (retd), one of the first 20 pioneer female officers to join the NPF.
While responding to the questions on the police stand on the 2027 election, the IGP said the Force had, in preparation for the election, organised a meeting with commissioners of police across the country to ensure professionalism during the polls.
“I want to let you know that we just finished a conference of all commissioners of police and other senior officers. We have had two or three elections recently, and you can see that the police came out 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.
“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,” he said.
Speaking on the author, Disu said she was among the first set of women to join the Nigerian police in 1955, adding that the force is pleased with her recorded achievements.
Disu stated, “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 to have something to look up to.
“We in the police, we are starting up the history of not leaving our own, not forgetting our own.
“We are going to ensure that we get copies of this book for all police training institutions, for all police officers to go through, to see what it was like to be police officers.”
Disu, who wrote the book’s introduction while serving as Rivers State Commissioner of Police, had promised to ensure the publication of the author’s biography after meeting her.
Speaking at the event, Disu said the launch of the book was a fulfilment of the promise he had made to get the book published after he had written the introduction.
The IGP said he was honoured to have been invited to the book launch, which he termed a celebration of courage and service of a remarkable woman whose pioneering effort shaped the Nigerian Police Force.
“The book launch made more meaning to the International Week of the Girl Child, which reminds us that the ambitions of the girl child cannot be constrained by childhood or by gender,” adding that the author had highlighted an important truth that every police officer must recognise that parental responsibility plays a crucial role in shaping the future of Nigeria, while adult delinquency contributed to many of the country’s security challenges.
While noting that policing alone could not guarantee a safe nation, he stressed that security required homes that instilled discipline and values in children, communities that supported the law, and a police force that worked closely with both.
The IGP described the book launch as more than a literary event, saying it was a celebration of courage, service and the remarkable women whose pioneering efforts helped shape the Nigeria Police Force.
“The women who joined the force in 1955 had their roles and opportunities limited by the realities of that time.
“The women officers showed diligence, determination and resilience to succeed, and it remains a lesson to remind every girl child that their dreams can become a reality.
“Today, we honoured those women for the tradition they left us and their contributions to humanity,” he said.
He recalled how he met Mama, and the latter told her she had written a book and wanted to launch it, saying that thereafter sometimes he would put a call across to her to inquire about the state of the book and when it would be launched.
Disu then revealed that he got a prophetic reply from mama thus: ‘I will launch it when my son becomes the IG’, referring to Disu.
“Mama, your son is now the IGP. I will soon commence the launch of your book,” Disu said, drawing a thunderous applause from the congregants.
The author and retired Deputy Commissioner of Police, who hails from the Okrika Local Government Area of Rivers State, expressed happiness that the publication was not just a book, but a part of her that would live on.
She said: “This book launch today is an important day in my life because the book itself is there. But I still live on because this book will be in libraries all over the world and they’ll be reading it.
“So I’m so happy that with all that is happening today, I will continue to live forever.”
Reflecting on her years in the police force, the retired deputy commissioner said the institution had undergone significant changes since she joined in 1955, noting that population growth had brought new challenges to policing.
She commended Disu for honouring her at the book launch with his presence and for encouraging women to pursue professional development and advancement in the force.
“Policing when we came in and policing now is not the same because the population has exploded. There are life changes,” she said.
In his remarks, Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Dagogo Wokoma, said the book was more than a historical account, as it documented the courage, sacrifices and achievements of the pioneering women who contributed to the development of the Nigeria Police Force.
He said their stories deserved to be preserved, celebrated and passed on to future generations, adding that the contributions of women to policing demonstrated that professionalism, discipline, courage and commitment to public service transcended gender.
He urged younger generations, particularly young women, to draw inspiration from the experiences of the pioneer officers and pursue leadership roles in law enforcement and other areas of national development.
Fubara commended Okuyiga for her determination to document the history of women in the Police Force at the age of 96 and launched the book with the sum of N20m.
The Assistant Inspector-General of Police and force Gender Advisor to the IGP, AIG Aishatu Abubakar, delivered a lecture on the ‘Evolution of women in policing and national security’, saying the environment where women operate has seen policing requiring soft power in confronting crimes such as kidnapping, terrorism and rape rather than manpower, which does not require the use of the brain.
“As mothers, we can easily detect change among people, to know when to engage in policing and intelligence,” he said.
The book was reviewed by Dr Okechukwu Eli, a lecturer at the Faculty of Law, Rivers State University, Port Harcourt.