The Inspector General of Police, Olatunji Disu, has approved the deployment of Deputy Inspectors General of Police to their respective geopolitical zones effective Monday, June 15, 2026.
He said the move was designed to bring leadership closer to the field and improve operational coordination across the country.
The IG announced the measure at a police conference with senior officers in Abuja on Tuesday.
He said, “In furtherance of our operational objective, I have approved the deployment of Deputy Inspectors General of Police to their respective geopolitical zones with effect from Monday, June 15, 2026.
“This initiative is designed to strengthen supervision, improve operational coordination, enhance accountability and provide strategic oversight of policing activities within their zones.
“This deployment is not ceremonial; it is intended to bring leadership closer to the field, improve response mechanisms and ensure that emergencies and priority threats receive prompt attention.”
The IGP directed the deployed DIGs to work closely with Assistant Inspectors General of Police and Commissioners of Police to ensure that operational directives were effectively implemented and measurable results achieved.
Alongside the deployment, he also ordered CPs in neighbouring states to establish what he described as handshake patrols, noting that criminals do not respect state boundaries.
“Too often offenders exploit the jurisdictional gap by committing crimes in one state and escaping to another,” he said.
Disu directed commissioners to establish coordinated patrols along shared entry and exit routes, maintain open intelligence sharing channels and initiate joint responses whenever circumstances demanded, insisting that security must be approached from a regional rather than purely territorial perspective.
The IG also ordered an immediate crackdown on vehicles operating without registration number plates across the country.
He said the force would no longer tolerate what he described as acts of impunity.
“Every vehicle operating on our roads must be properly registered and must display its approved registration number in accordance with the law.
“Any vehicle found without number plates or with a deliberately obscured, concealed or tampered registration number will be stopped, grounded and subjected to the appropriate legal process.”
He linked the practice directly to criminal activity, noting that criminals, kidnappers, terrorists and other offenders often exploit unregistered vehicles to perpetrate crimes and evade detection.
The IGP directed all CPs and tactical commanders to immediately intensify enforcement operations with no preferential treatment or selective enforcement.
Highlighting the success of the police, Disu said eight suspected terrorists, 29 murder suspects, 65 armed robbery suspects, 55 kidnapping suspects and 42 other criminal suspects were arrested.
He added that the operations led to the recovery of 843 rounds of ammunition of various calibres and 28 stolen vehicles, while 88 kidnapped victims were rescued.
Nigeria’s federal structure has long exposed a critical gap in policing, as criminals routinely exploit state boundaries to commit offences in one jurisdiction and flee to another, while fragmented command structures have hampered swift operational response and field-level accountability across the country’s six geopolitical zones.