In a major strategic shake-up aimed at crushing cross-border crimes and tightening national security, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, has approved the immediate deployment of Deputy Inspectors-General of Police (DIGs) to their respective geopolitical zones.
The restructuring, which takes effect from Monday, June 15, 2026, was unveiled during the monthly conference with strategic senior officers at the Force Headquarters in Abuja. According to the police leadership, the move is designed to bring enforcement closer to the field, optimize operational oversight, and ensure a swift response to emerging security threats across Nigeria.
Decentralizing Leadership for Maximum Impact
By embedding top-tier management directly into the country’s geopolitical zones, the Force expects a massive boost in accountability and field supervision. The newly deployed DIGs have been mandated to work hand-in-hand with Assistant Inspectors-General of Police (AIGs) and State Commissioners of Police (CPs) to ensure absolute compliance with federal policing directives.
The Force Public Relations Officer, DCP Anthony Okon Placid, highlighted the core vision behind the massive deployment in an official statement released on Wednesday.
“The deployment is part of ongoing efforts to strengthen operational effectiveness, improve supervision, and enhance security coordination across the country. It aims at bringing strategic leadership closer to the field, strengthening accountability, and ensuring prompt response to emerging security threats,” Placid stated.
Launch of ‘Handshake Patrols’ to Seal Jurisdictional Gaps
Simultaneously, the Police Chief has ordered all State Commissioners of Police to eliminate the operational blind spots often exploited by fleeing criminals. CPs nationwide are to immediately collaborate with their counterparts in neighboring territories to launch coordinated inter-state security operations tagged Handshake Patrols.
This newly birthed initiative is engineered to force a seamless synergy in intelligence sharing, enhance inter-state communication channels, and trigger swift joint tactical operations when criminals attempt to cross state lines to evade justice.
Eliminating Criminal Escape Routes
While addressing the strategic commanders, IGP Disu explained that the traditional boundaries between states have inadvertently aided criminality for too long. He stressed that a fragmented approach to policing only benefits syndicates who commit atrocities in one state and flee into another.
To combat this, the IGP strictly charged all state Commissioners to maintain non-stop communication with neighboring commands, roll out aggressive joint patrols along critical transit corridors, and fully embrace a regional approach to fighting crime.
Reiterating the long-term vision of the current administration, the Force Headquarters maintained that the police will continue to lean heavily on intelligence-led policing, strategic regional coordination, and robust inter-agency collaboration to secure Nigerian lives and properties.
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