The Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) has called for stronger safeguards on Nigeria’s planned state police, clarity on the fate of the Police Pension Board Bill, and full implementation of a coroner’s findings on a custodial death in Owerri.
In its weekly update, the group said the country’s problem was no longer the absence of laws or institutions.
“The central problem is no longer simply the absence of laws or institutions,” said Okechukwu Nwanguma, RULAAC’s Executive Director. “It is the persistent failure to enforce existing laws, implement findings, discipline offending officers, compensate victims and make official decision-making transparent.”
A constitutional amendment providing for state police services has been transmitted to the 36 state Houses of Assembly. As of 6 October 2026, Edo, Oyo, Osun and Rivers States were reported to have approved it. At least 24 states must approve before the process can advance.
RULAAC said it supports decentralised policing in principle, noting that the centralised system is overstretched and often unable to respond to local security conditions. But it cautioned: “Decentralisation without strong safeguards may simply decentralise abuse.”
“The central question is not merely whether states should have police services,” the group said. “It is whether those services will be protected from capture by governors, political parties and other powerful interests.”
The Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill has identified national standards on recruitment, vetting, training, remuneration, pensions, custody management, firearms control, complaints, discipline, independent oversight and financial sustainability. RULAAC noted, however, that the proposed legislation has not been made fully available for public scrutiny.
The group demanded immediate publication of the draft National Policing Bill and public hearings by state Houses of Assembly before they vote. It also called for independent oversight at federal and state levels, insulated from executive and partisan control, and clear national minimum standards. It further asked for proof of financial and institutional readiness before any state police service begins operations, and for a phased transition that prevents “rushed deployment for political purposes” ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“Constitutional approval should not automatically translate into immediate deployment,” RULAAC said. No state police service, it added, should become operational until credible safeguards exist against “political persecution, discriminatory enforcement, torture, arbitrary detention and election-related misuse.”
RULAAC said recent statements by the Federal Government, the National Pension Commission (PenCom) and NPF Pensions Limited have deepened uncertainty over police pensions.
On 5 October, the Federal Ministry of Police Affairs acknowledged retired officers’ demand to exit the Contributory Pension Scheme, as well as legislation reportedly passed by the National Assembly to create a dedicated Police Pension Board. NPF Pensions, meanwhile, said a presidential committee was considering ways to improve benefits within the existing scheme. PenCom referred to presidential instructions to resolve the problem.
This leaves three possible directions: assent to the Police Pension Board Bill, complete withdrawal from the contributory scheme, or retention with higher contributions and better benefits. “The government has not clearly stated which option it has adopted,” RULAAC said.
The group voiced concern that talk of higher pension payments “may be used to avoid answering the fundamental question” of what happened to the bill. It called on the government to disclose when the bill was transmitted to the President and whether he has assented to, withheld assent from or returned it. It also asked for the committee’s membership and terms of reference, whether serving and retired officers are represented, and the financial implications of each option. RULAAC further urged an independent examination of allegations about management charges, investment performance, delayed payments and the accountability of pension-fund managers.
“Police welfare is not separate from police reform,” RULAAC said. “Poor pay, uncertain benefits and inadequate pensions undermine morale and may contribute to corruption and extortion.”
RULAAC described the Coroner’s Court findings on the death of 32-year-old Japheth Njoku in police custody at Tiger Base, Owerri, as “an important test of the government’s commitment to police accountability.”
Njoku was reportedly held for about six weeks. The coroner found that his prolonged detention and the inhuman conditions he endured contributed to the deterioration of his health and his death.
The court reportedly recommended prosecution of officers implicated in alleged extortion and corruption, and compensation and support for his family. It also recommended the transfer of officers serving at the facility, installation of CCTV in police detention facilities, improved training on the Police Act and criminal-justice legislation, and measures to prevent prolonged and unlawful detention.
“Japheth Njoku entered police custody alive,” RULAAC said. “His death cannot be treated as an administrative inconvenience.”
The group urged the Inspector-General of Police, the Police Service Commission, the Imo State Commissioner of Police and the Imo State Attorney-General to publish an implementation plan.
It also called for an independent investigation into reported attempts to obstruct the court-ordered autopsy or intimidate witnesses. The authorities reportedly have three months to act. “Silence or inaction during this period would reinforce the perception that even judicially established police misconduct attracts no meaningful consequences,” RULAAC warned.
The National Human Rights Commission’s August 2026 Human Rights Situation Dashboard, published on 5 October, recorded 297,943 complaints nationwide, of which 92,144 fell under law enforcement and human dignity. The Commission reported 103 visits to police stations, correctional centres and other detention places, and 31 summonses or letters to the Nigeria Police Force.
“These figures demonstrate that violations connected with law enforcement are not isolated incidents,” RULAAC said. “They point to a structural problem requiring institutional remedies.”
But the group said complaint numbers alone do not show whether victims got justice. It called on the NHRC to publish data disaggregated by state, police formation, type of violation, victims’ sex and age, investigation status and remedy obtained, along with indicators of how police authorities respond to its summonses and recommendations. This, it said, would show whether the NHRC–NPF Joint Liaison Framework is producing real change.
A Federal High Court in Lagos has reportedly ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria to disclose details of Police Service Commission accounts to help enforce a ₦100 million damages judgment. The case stems from the reported 2015 killing of a pastor’s wife and shooting of her husband by a police officer.
“A favourable judgment that remains unpaid does not provide an effective remedy,” RULAAC said. It called for a transparent mechanism to ensure timely compensation while preserving disciplinary, criminal and recovery proceedings against officers found responsible, and for the publication of outstanding judgments, amounts awarded, sums paid and reasons for delay.
RULAAC noted that Nigeria already has the Police Act 2020, the Anti-Torture Act, the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, the Police Service Commission, the NHRC and internal complaint mechanisms.
It urged the government to prioritise publication of the National Policing Bill, resolution of the pension controversy, implementation of the Njoku recommendations, publication of NHRC data, enforcement of judgments, independent monitoring of detention facilities, digital custody registers, audiovisual recording of interrogations, and early access to lawyers, relatives and medical help for detainees. It also called for criminal investigation, “not merely internal disciplinary action,” where conduct may amount to torture, extortion or unlawful killing.
“Police reform will not be judged by committees, policy documents and public assurances alone,” Nwanguma said. “It will be judged by whether people are safer in police custody, whether complaints produce remedies, whether offending officers face appropriate consequences, whether retired officers receive dignified benefits and whether new policing structures are prevented from becoming instruments of political oppression.”
