By Okechukwu Nwanguma
In 2019, the Federal Government established the Nigeria Police Trust Fund (NPTF) with the lofty aim of providing alternative funding for the Nigeria Police Force to address chronic underfunding and improve operational efficiency.
Six years down the line, the question that now looms large is whether the Trust Fund is still legal.
The Police Trust Fund Act 2019, which created the Fund, expressly provides in Section 18(2) that:
“The Fund shall operate for a period of six years from the date of commencement of this Act and may be extended by an Act of the National Assembly.”
With 2025 marking the end of the six-year period, there is no public record or confirmation that the National Assembly has passed any legislation to extend the lifespan of the Fund. This raises serious legal and governance concerns: If no extension has been made, can the Fund legally continue to operate? If it does so regardless, what is the implication for funds it collects or disburses beyond the expiration period?
These concerns were at the heart of discussions at a civil society roundtable in Abuja convened by the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) in partnership with the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) and Partners West Africa Nigeria four years ago in 2021.
The event brought together stakeholders to review the implementation of the NPTF Act and assess the impact of the Fund since its creation.
The findings were sobering. Four years after CSOs first raised concerns about the Fund’s non-performance, little has changed.
The N1.8 trillion needs assessment submitted by the Police — covering urgent requirements for arms, ammunition, vehicles, communication equipment, and other logistics — remains unaddressed.
Meanwhile, the Fund has operated under a cloud of opacity, failing to publish financial reports or disclose how much it has received, how much it has spent, or on what.
Another pressing concern is the widespread resistance by corporations required to contribute 0.005% of their net profit to the Fund. Many view this as double taxation, arguing that they already pay corporate income tax, education tax, and other levies. The Rivers State Government even challenged the legality of this deduction from the Federation Account. The legitimacy of the funding model, therefore, remains contested.
Even the structure and management of the Fund have come under scrutiny. As rightly noted by Fola Arthur-Worrey, a former Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund, a trust fund by definition is not meant to be managed by its beneficiaries — in this case, the police.
The NPTF’s current setup lacks robust independent oversight, undermining both public confidence and corporate willingness to contribute.
The absence of the NPTF from the CSO accountability dialogue — despite being formally invited — was telling. It exemplifies the pattern of non-engagement, non-responsiveness, and lack of transparency that has dogged the Fund from inception.
The Trust Fund was envisioned as a bold intervention to fill a longstanding funding gap. But without clear legal grounding after 2025, without reforms to its governance structure, and without transparency in its operations, the Fund is rapidly losing whatever credibility it once held.
As the clock ticks toward the end of its six-year term, we must ask hard questions: Has the Trust Fund delivered on its mandate?
Has it improved the welfare, capacity, and professionalism of the Nigeria Police Force?
And most importantly, will it continue to exist after 2025 without legal cover?
The National Assembly must urgently clarify the legal status of the Fund. If an extension is to be considered, it must be preceded by a comprehensive performance audit, restructuring of its governance model, and greater involvement of independent oversight and private sector stakeholders.
The Police Trust Fund was meant to be a solution. Without reform and accountability, it risks becoming yet another failed experiment in Nigeria’s long and tortuous journey toward police reform.
– Okechukwu Nwanguma is Executive Director of the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC). He writes from Lagos.
