Emmanuel Ojukwu, retired Commissioner of Police

Retired Commissioner of Police and security expert, Emmanuel Ojukwu, has called for the complete scrapping and rebuilding of the Nigerian Police Force, citing systemic rot, foundational flaws, and decades of institutional neglect that have rendered the force incapable of addressing internal security challenges.

Speaking during the week on Frontline, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese–Ijebu, Ojukwu said the time had come to admit that the Nigerian police system is broken beyond repair and must be reconstructed from the ground up.

“If I had my way,” he added, “I would say scrap the Nigerian Police Force and start afresh. We didn’t start right.

“If we’re not careful, we’ll end up replicating the same neglect and poor recruitment at the state level,” he said.

Lamenting the underfunding of the Nigeria police force, He disclosed that his own pension as a Commissioner of Police was only ₦85,000, questioning how security personnel could be motivated under such poor welfare conditions.

Ojukwu’s complaint is coming in days after the Minister of Interior Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo described the country’s security funding as a national embarrassment, insisting that the meagre allocation to critical security agencies, such as the Nigerian Police Force, Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), makes a mockery of the fight against terrorism and transborder crimes, Tanko said it show the incapacity of the government who has failed to see the recurring problems.

“The police did not start with the right philosophy or training,” he said. “To correct the imbalance in the police, we have to begin afresh.”

He described the Nigerian Police as a wounded institution that has lost its relevance in the face of rising insecurity.

“The police have been bleeding but not showing the pain. It was victimised into taking a back bench,” Ojukwu said, lamenting how the military has taken over duties constitutionally meant for the police.

He argued that Nigeria cannot achieve internal security by continuing to sideline the police while deploying the military for civil responsibilities.

“The police should be at the forefront of internal security, not the military. What we have now is a complete reversal—the military is now the theatre of policing,” he added.

Addressing internal dysfunction within Nigeria’s security architecture, the retired CP revealed that competition and rivalry among agencies hinder national security efforts. “Agencies don’t share information with one another. There’s no political will or empowerment to coordinate them effectively,” he said.

Ojukwu stressed the urgent need for a mobile, intelligence-driven police force, properly trained, equipped, and funded. He also called for the establishment of state policing outfits to address insecurity at local levels, insisting that one-size-fits-all national policing has failed.

Benue Killings a Result of Security Failure

Turning to the recent killings in Yelewate, Benue State, Ojukwu linked the massacre to Nigeria’s failure to adopt a community-based policing system.

“The violence has gone beyond farmer-herder clashes,” he said, disagreeing with official narratives from the presidency. “We need a proper diagnosis of what is really going on.” He noted that Benue State has historically experienced tension between farmers and herders, sometimes worsened by retaliatory actions.

“Every criminal leaves behind a trace. It is not too late to apprehend these criminals if we have a functional police system,” he said.

He blamed the lack of swift and informed response on the absence of state policing, which, according to him, would have ensured better surveillance and community trust—essential tools in curbing and investigating rural violence.

“The violence has gone beyond farmer-herder clashes,” he said, disagreeing with official narratives from the presidency. “We need a proper diagnosis of what is really going on.”

“State policing is the way to go. Communities know their terrain and their people. A central police structure based in Abuja cannot effectively secure local areas like Yelewate,” he added.

Ojukwu also faulted the Benue State Government’s response, describing it as passive and politically calculated rather than sincere.

“The body language of the Benue government doesn’t speak well of someone aggrieved,” he said, adding that the attitude of state officials did not reflect the gravity of the tragedy that occurred.

He further accused Benue state government aides of politicising his visit to the state and missing an opportunity for national healing and connection.

“The aide trivialised the issue,” Ojukwu said. “That wasn’t the President’s fault, but the people around him mishandled it.”

While commending President Bola Tinubu’s decision to visit Benue following the attack, he criticised the choice of venue.

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“A visit to the besieged Yelewate community would have given the President more authority than receiving briefings from people who hardly understand the security realities in the land,” he asserted.

Justice System Also Under Fire

In a broader reflection on Nigeria’s justice system, Ojukwu lamented the failure to prosecute known offenders due to political interference and legal loopholes. He particularly called for the removal of constitutional immunity clauses that protect sitting public officeholders from prosecution.

“Nigeria must begin to value life nationally. We should remove immunity for impunity. Offenders should be jailed,” he said.

Despite the rot, he acknowledged that “there are still people in the system who are canvassing for the good of the community.”

“A governor was prosecuted for embezzling public funds, yet a president came and pardoned him. What message are we sending?”

Ojukwu concluded by calling for a national rebirth in how Nigeria views security, justice, and governance. He warned that without radical reforms, the country risks remaining trapped in cycles of violence, impunity, and lawlessness.