Violence Against Security Personnel: Authorities Must Better Support the Police.

Policing Nigeria has become increasingly difficult, with officers often risking their lives to protect citizens and maintain public safety. Last week, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Olatunji Disu highlighted the harsh reality of workplace violence faced by law enforcement. He disclosed that 140 police operatives died in 2024 in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) while on duty. “If you calculate the number of police officers who die annually across Nigeria while protecting citizens,” said the IGP, “you will understand the sacrifices they make to keep the country safe.”

As first responders to high‑conflict situations, police are primary targets of organised crime, increased banditry, armed robberies, and other criminal cocktails. Yet the fatality rate within the FCT Police Command remains unsettling. If officers in Abuja, the seat of power with a significant presence of all security forces, are exposed to such high risk, what is the toll in other states? For example, what is the overall fatality rate in Borno State, the epicentre of the Boko Haram insurgency?

Disu’s revelations, while alarming, are not new. For decades, hundreds of security operatives have died in the line of duty. The rising wave of attacks on police officers and their facilities has become part of the broader insecurity affecting the country. In 2013, 74 police officers and 10 Department of State Services (DSS) officers were murdered by members of the Ombatse Cult in Lafia, Nasarawa State. To date, there is no public information on whether those criminals were hunted down and prosecuted, pointing to structural defects in the security architecture.

The challenge to security forces is profound, and the tragedy spans all security agencies nationwide. Terrorists and bandits across the country are evidently armed through the limitless inflow of small arms and ammunition. A recent security report by SBM Intelligence, titled “The Kill Zone,” recorded at least 1,007 combatant and security fatalities in ambushes between 2019 and 2025. According to the report, at least 454 soldiers and 329 other security personnel (including police, civilian JTF, NSCDC, and vigilantes) were killed during the review period. The casualty figures in the last few months have been even more alarming.

Many Nigerians are not only concerned by the failure of police and other security agencies to effectively discharge their mandate, but also by their inability to protect themselves from harm. If trained and armed law enforcement officers who wield state authority can become easy targets for criminals, what prospects remain for ordinary people?

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) is seriously understaffed, with a total strength of about 370,000 for a population of more than 200 million. It is thus overworked. Last week, Mr. Disu admitted that “We no longer operate the conventional policing structure of morning, afternoon, and night shifts. Officers work virtually around the clock under very difficult circumstances.” It is no wonder many go to bed without waking up. In addition, the force is ill‑equipped to tackle criminals with more sophisticated weapons. The authorities must find a creative way to effectively fund internal security agencies so that the appropriate training and equipment required to upgrade their skills can be provided.

Indeed, the authorities must do more to stem the current rate of depletion by increasing the capacity of the force, equipping it with modern equipment, and raising morale. Issues of welfare must be addressed. There is a relationship between the well‑being of the police and the security of the nation and its citizens.