Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN), Jimoh Ibrahim, has canvassed global support for President Bola Tinubu’s state police reform at a UN advisory meeting in New York.
Ibrahim said the proposed framework would bridge the trust gap between citizens and security agencies, decentralise Nigeria’s policing structure, and improve the deployment of manpower. He spoke while hosting the UN Strategic Police Advisory Group (SPAG) at the country’s Permanent Mission.
The envoy described Tinubu’s commitment to institutional reform as central to tackling persistent internal security challenges across Nigeria. He argued that decentralised policing would complement the federal force and bring law enforcement closer to local communities.
Ibrahim praised Nigeria’s long record of peacekeeping under the UN framework. He said contributions by the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), now led by Inspector General of Police (IGP) Olatunji Disu, had earned the country sustained international recognition.
The Police Adviser at Nigeria’s Permanent Mission to the UN and SPAG co-chair, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Dolapo Badmos, reaffirmed the country’s commitment to global peace and security. She said Nigeria remained proud of its longstanding contributions to UN peacekeeping and international policing operations.
Badmos described the meeting as evidence of Nigeria’s commitment to international cooperation and strategic policing partnerships. She added that effective policing must remain professional, accountable, and community centred in addressing modern security realities.
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Policing Expert, Lotta Gustafsson, said Nigeria had been strategic in combating global drug related offences. SPAG’s immediate past chair, Patrik Engstron, commended the country’s leadership in strengthening security diplomacy at the UN.
The proposed state police framework forms part of the Tinubu administration’s broader push to address worsening insecurity through structural reform. Federal lawmakers and state governors have spent recent months engaging on the constitutional adjustments required to make state level policing operational.
