By: Fabian Apechihin

Residents of Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State are facing growing fear after suspected terrorists reportedly set five primary schools on fire, worsening the humanitarian and education crisis in the affected communities.

The Principal of Government Day Secondary School, Dekara, Zubairu Salihu, disclosed the development during a press conference held in New Bussa, the headquarters of Borgu Local Government Area.

According to Salihu, the attacks have affected several communities, including Konkoso, Kasuwan Daji, Pissa, Gangale, Woro, Tungan Makeri, Old Gangale, Boiya, Bakinba and Wawa.

He said the persistent insecurity has forced many residents to flee their homes in search of safety, leaving families displaced and struggling to survive.

“Families have been displaced, farmlands abandoned, livestock rustled, and businesses destroyed. Healthcare services have been disrupted, leaving many residents without any source of livelihood.

“Children are also paying the price. Schools outside New Bussa have remained closed since January 2026 because of insecurity, while healthcare services in many affected communities have completely collapsed,” he said.

Salihu described the situation as dire, noting that the continued attacks have left residents living in constant fear. He appealed to both the Federal Government and the Niger State Government to take urgent steps to restore peace and security across the affected communities.

He also lamented the destruction of the only bridge linking New Bussa to several neighbouring communities, saying it has remained unrepaired for more than three months, making transportation, access to essential services and emergency response increasingly difficult.

The school principal called on the authorities to establish additional Forward Operating Bases in vulnerable communities, strengthen intelligence gathering, provide greater support for local vigilante groups and deliver immediate humanitarian assistance to displaced residents.

He further appealed to security agencies to intensify efforts to rescue residents still being held captive by terrorists, stressing that the people of Borgu deserve the same level of protection and security guaranteed to every Nigerian.

If this is intended for a news website, this version improves flow, removes repetition, corrects attribution inconsistencies, and maintains a neutral, factual tone.

By: Fabian Apechihin

Fresh details have emerged regarding the alleged fraud involving the disowned Director-General of the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), Adeniyi Adeyemi, revealing how the disputed agency allegedly gained access to key institutions within Nigeria’s public service.

Documents reviewed in connection with the case suggest that several government officials and agencies allegedly processed requests that enabled Adeyemi to obtain a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) account, a budget code, office accommodation at the Federal Secretariat, deployment of civil servants, and other privileges typically reserved for legally established government agencies.

Although these documents were listed as exhibits in the Federal Government’s case against Adeyemi, a police investigation report reportedly indicated that officials who approved, processed, or signed the documents were not questioned during the investigation.

The revelations have raised concerns about the level of due diligence exercised by senior public officials in handling requests submitted on behalf of the disputed agency.

According to Premium Times, the authenticity of the documents could not be independently verified. However, the newspaper noted that questioning the officials involved would be crucial in determining whether the documents were genuine or forged, as well as the circumstances surrounding their issuance.

Former Director-General of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms, Joe Abah, said the controversy had exposed significant weaknesses in government procedures.

“Anyhow you look at it, questions are begging for answers. And whatever the answers will be, they will not be good,” Abah said.

According to Premium Times, the following government institutions and officials have been linked to the PFIPC controversy.

The Presidency

Documents reviewed by Premium Times indicate that the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President, the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Nigeria Police Force became aware of the alleged fraud involving Adeyemi in November 2025.

In October 2025, Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, reportedly wrote to the Inspector-General of Police and the Director-General of the State Security Service (SSS), requesting an investigation into Adeyemi over alleged forgery.

On October 27, 2025, Gbajabiamila also wrote to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, distancing both the Presidency and the Federal Government from Adeyemi and the PFIPC after the ministry sought clarification.

Again, on November 5, 2025, the Chief of Staff formally informed the Secretary to the Government of the Federation that neither the agency nor Adeyemi had been created or appointed by the Presidency.

However, despite these internal communications, no public disclaimer was issued until June 2026—more than six months later. The delay has prompted questions about why the government did not publicly warn Nigerians earlier, allowing Adeyemi to allegedly continue presenting himself as the head of a presidential agency.

Femi Gbajabiamila – Chief of Staff to the President

Adeyemi allegedly claimed that his appointment letter as Director-General of the PFIPC was issued by Femi Gbajabiamila.

Police investigators have described the appointment letter as forged, while Gbajabiamila has denied issuing it.

The Chief of Staff was also the first senior government official to formally disown Adeyemi and petition security agencies to investigate the alleged forgery.

Nnamdi Mbaeri – Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation

According to documents obtained by Premium Times, Nnamdi Mbaeri, who was then the Permanent Secretary, General Services Office at the OSGF, signed a letter dated November 21, 2024, requesting office accommodation for the PFIPC from recovered federal government properties managed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Mbaeri retired in July 2025 and was succeeded by Mohammed Danjuma.

The report noted that investigators may need to determine whether Mbaeri indeed signed the document, whether adequate verification of the agency’s legal status was carried out before processing the request, and the basis upon which the office accommodation was approved.

Officials of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF)

According to the report, officials of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation processed several requests that allegedly enabled the PFIPC to operate like a recognised government agency.

One official, identified as Abdullahi, reportedly responded to correspondence confirming that domiciliary accounts had been created for the PFIPC at the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The report raises questions about the verification process used before approving the accounts and whether the agency satisfied the legal requirements for opening official CBN accounts.

Mulikat Sanni – Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation

As Director of Treasury Inspectorate, Mulikat Sanni signed a letter dated March 26, 2025, granting the PFIPC provisional self-accounting status for six months.

Part of the letter stated:

“I am directed to refer to your letter… and to convey the approval of the Accountant-General of the Federation to grant you a six-month provisional self-accounting status.”

According to Premium Times, one of the requirements for granting self-accounting status is a physical verification exercise by the Treasury Inspectorate Department.

The report questioned who conducted the verification, what their findings were, and whether investigators obtained the relevant reports during the police investigation.

Sanni was later transferred to the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment in May 2025.

Dauda Abdulhamid – Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation

On August 28, 2025, Dauda Abdulhamid, Director of Administration at the OAGF, reportedly approved the posting of more than 300 treasury officers to various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), including three officers assigned to the PFIPC.

The approval letter stated that the postings were intended to improve service delivery across government institutions.

Nigeria Police Force and the Judiciary

The handling of the criminal case has also attracted scrutiny.

According to documents cited by Premium Times, police investigations commenced on October 23, 2025, and were concluded by November 13, 2025.

Although charges were reportedly filed on November 27, 2025, the first court hearing was scheduled for July 27, 2026—about eight months later.

The report noted that while law enforcement agencies often fast-track criminal prosecutions, the pace of this particular case has raised questions about the reasons for the delay.

Kashifu Inuwa – Director-General, NITDA

The PFIPC also operated the website pfipc.gov.ng, a government domain reportedly approved through the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).

WHOIS records reviewed by Premium Times showed that the domain was created on September 30, 2024, by NITDA web administrators. The website has since gone offline following the controversy.

The .gov.ng domain is reserved exclusively for verified Nigerian government institutions and is managed by the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA) under NITDA’s regulatory oversight.

NITDA states that government domain applications must be submitted through the agency or via NiRA using an accredited registrar.

The report said questions remain over how the PFIPC obtained approval for the domain and what verification procedures were followed before the registration was granted.

This version improves readability, removes repetition, tightens the language, and presents the allegations in a balanced manner while preserving the key facts reported by Premium Times.

This is a hearty welcome to Nigeria’s new kid on the nation’s security block — the State Police Service (SPS). It has been a long time coming, but it is finally here, hopefully to take its seat among its older siblings, both state and non-state. They include the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the Nigerian Forest Guards, Amotekun, Yan Sa Kai, Ƙato da Gora, Ebube Agu Security Network, Agunechemba, and others. They will eventually join their senior cousin, the Nigeria Police Force, soon to be known as the Federal Police Service (FPS). Perhaps it is a case of “the more, the merrier.”

The debate over the establishment of state police, which has gone on for over a decade, came to an end recently when the National Assembly (NASS) passed the required bill [Ref: Bill No. SB.1055, dated 22/6/26]. The 26-clause bill also places policing on the Concurrent Legislative List.

According to the passed bill, the State Police “shall, within the state for which it is established, be responsible for the enforcement of state laws, the maintenance of public safety and public order, the prevention and detection of offences within its policing competence, the protection of life and property, and such local policing functions as may be prescribed by a law of the State House of Assembly, subject to this Constitution and to national minimum standards prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly.”

During the debate on the desirability or otherwise of the SPS, those not favourably disposed towards the initiative argued that the current crop of Nigerian politicians would abuse the outfit. They see them as still being driven by primordial and self-serving interests, often incapable of subordinating their personal interests to the general good. They operate on the Machiavellian principle of “the end justifies the means,” and are therefore always ready to employ any means — just or foul — to prevail.

The State Police Service could, therefore, become a convenient political weapon against the people. The handwriting is on the wall, in both historical and contemporary terms. In the current Republic, state governors’ penchant for using thugs and willing functionaries of federal security agencies to manipulate or suppress the opposition has grown to ridiculous levels. It is a common occurrence for state governors to compromise federal security functionaries in their states to do their political bidding.

Compromised State Commissioners of Police have allegedly been used to facilitate the rigging of elections for governors. The various State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) have also been protected by the police to deliver 90% to 100% in local council elections in favour of the ruling party in most states of the federation. Where they fail, they resort to using party thugs to intimidate and harass the opposition, often with serious consequences for national stability. The story of “ECOMOG” in Borno and its alleged link to the nascent Boko Haram in its formative years is a practical example. Such may be the risk associated with the state police system.

The protagonists, on the other hand, have cited the need to relieve the overburdened and overstretched Nigeria Police Force and to place local security in the hands of those who know and understand the local environment and terrain best. Ironically, there is no statute in place that prevents the government from recruiting and equipping local indigenes to serve where they know best, instead of introducing this new initiative. The supporters point to the layered policing system of the U.S. as an example.

The U.S. operates a three-tier system: federal, state, and county. For instance, there is the New York State Police (NYSP) and the New York City Police Department (NYPD). Even in Nigeria, before the 1972 police reform, there used to be a Native Authority (NA) police system. They were the baton-wielding local police variously called Ɗandoka in Hausa, Olópà in Yoruba, and Ndi Uwe Ojii in Igbo. Whatever might have led to their abolition is no longer the issue. The urgency of the country’s security challenges has enabled the protagonists to carry the day.

The challenge now is how to make the system work — and work well to a reasonable extent. Citing global best practices is one thing; operating them successfully is another. Therein lies the challenge. Nigeria has a long history of adopting global ideas, only to turn them on their head and reduce them to mere clichés. Nigeria’s challenges are not a matter of lacking institutions or ideas; it is the human factor — the mentality of the operators — which has not changed.

Nigeria readily embraces global ideas, fashionable governance concepts, and internationally accepted best practices. From democracy and constitutionalism to human rights, judicial independence, public accountability, and community policing, the country has never lacked inspiring principles.

Yet Nigeria hardly gets them translated into everyday reality. They simply become mere clichés and slogans — frequently repeated, widely celebrated, but rarely practised. These include: “the police is your friend”; “bail is free”; “we are on top of the situation”; “if you see something, say something”; “soliciting actionable intelligence”; “presumption of innocence”; “the judiciary is the last hope of the common man”, and many more.

“The Police Is Your Friend” is one of them. Few slogans are more familiar to Nigerians than the famous police motto, “The Police Is Your Friend.” For decades, the Nigeria Police Force has promoted this phrase as a symbol of its commitment to public service. Governments have echoed it. Civil society organizations have campaigned for improved police-community relations. International partners have invested heavily in police reform programmes aimed at making law enforcement more citizen-friendly.

Yet the everyday experiences of many Nigerians often tell a different story. One of the most enduring contradictions is the issue of bail. Nigerian law is clear: bail is free. The phrase “Bail Is Free” is displayed in numerous police stations across the country. Despite this, reports of citizens being compelled to make unofficial payments before obtaining bail continue to surface regularly. Likewise, suspects accused of minor or bailable offences are sometimes detained beyond the periods prescribed by law. Such practices have repeatedly drawn criticism from human rights organizations, the National Human Rights Commission, and legal advocacy groups.

The result is a widening gap between the ideal of a citizen-friendly police force and the reality experienced by many Nigerians. As a consequence, between 64% and 70% of the country’s total prison [correctional centre] population are awaiting-trial inmates, according to statistics from the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) and the NBA. That translates to roughly 51,000 out of 80,000 total inmates. Should the state police operate the same way, and in usual cohort with the judiciary, then the crisis will be multiplied.

Another cliché related to the security agencies, including the police, is the collective appeal to the public for cooperation. The military, police, DSS, NSCDC, and other agencies frequently appeal to citizens for cooperation. Public announcements regularly urge Nigerians to provide actionable intelligence regarding criminal activities under slogans such as “If you see something, say something.”

The logic is sound, but not when the terrorists operate in the open, or even attack military and security formations. Some even hold territories and impose taxes and levies. They move in daring convoys. For instance, the last abduction of students sitting for NECO examinations in Lassa, Borno State, was carried out by Boko Haram/ISWAP insurgents riding on over 45 motorcycles. The noise and tracks were too obvious.

It is contradictions of this type that have allowed the various crises in Nigeria to fester for more than a decade — conflicts that have displaced over 3.5 million people from their homes and led to the deaths of over 50,000 people, with massive destruction of socio-economic amenities, while security functionaries kept claiming to be “on top of the situation.” To the affected communities, such pronouncements are just operational clichés or slogans.

In the civil service domain, public functionaries take an oath to do the “right thing” in the course of serving the nation and God. Most swear by the Holy Books, the Qur’an or the Bible. The sanctity of the oath of office or profession is hardly upheld in Nigeria, despite the fact that the nation ranks among the top prayer nations on the planet Earth. Every elected president, governor, legislator, minister, commissioner, and civil servant takes an oath of office before assuming official responsibilities, but most observe them in breach. Today, over 80% of all former governors have accountability allegations against them, to a lesser extent legislators, judges, and captains of industry.

Since a lot of Nigerians do not seem to fear the Lord’s injunctions embedded in oath-taking, the government created sets of secular agencies to fight the scourge. They include the EFCC, established in 2003, and the ICPC, established in 2000, among others. They have prosecuted high-profile cases but with little deterrence success. The institutions too have not been blameless.

This brings the discussion to another hollow cliché in the Nigerian judicial system: the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. It is one of the most cherished principles of modern jurisprudence globally. Section 36(5) of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution explicitly states that every person charged with a criminal offence shall be presumed innocent until proven guilty. The principle was inherited from English common law. However, in the Nigerian system, citizens literally feel compelled to prove their innocence rather than rely on the constitutional guarantee that the burden of proof rests with the accuser. On the whole, the Nigerian judiciary hasn’t been for the common man. Justice has been monetized beyond his reach. It’s now on sale, literally.

Why do clichés that affect policing and the rule of law work elsewhere but not in Nigeria? The problem is not with the principles themselves. In many successful societies, the same ideas — community policing, judicial fairness, public accountability, constitutional oaths, and anti-corruption safeguards — have helped build stable institutions and prosperous nations. What makes the difference is enforcement.

In countries where institutions function effectively, laws against perjury, obstruction of justice, abuse of office, and corruption are applied consistently. Public officials who violate their oaths face consequences. Law enforcement agencies are held accountable. Judicial decisions are respected. Citizens have confidence that rules apply equally to everyone. The power of these values lies not in their wording but in the certainty that violations will attract sanctions.

Nigeria’s greatest challenge may, therefore, not be the absence of good laws, noble principles, or the existence of the state police system. The country possesses a comprehensive constitution, numerous anti-corruption statutes, a network of courts, security agencies, oversight institutions, and regulatory bodies. On paper, many of these frameworks compare favourably with those of other developing nations. The difficulty lies in the persistence of impunity, which may undermine the state police if left unaddressed.

Nigeria does not need more slogans. It needs more work. It does not need additional clichés, but accountability, transparency, service, and patriotism. It does not need just another institution. It needs institutions that work. The State Police must work, for a change.

As a way forward, it should be leveraged on three critical pillars: training and orientation; funding; and insulation from partisanship.

Proper training and re-orientation: What Nigeria requires is a culture in which institutions function as intended, laws are enforced impartially, and public officials are held accountable for their actions. It requires value reorientation, civic responsibility, and a commitment to law and order that extends beyond speeches and official ceremonies. The ideals themselves remain important. Indeed, no nation develops without embracing such principles. But principles that exist only on paper cannot transform society. Rigorous training and orientation should therefore be the first step.

Funding is equally critical: Until recently, many states could not implement the ₦70,000 minimum wage. Some are still battling with pension payment arrears spanning years. Adding state police service funding will compound the challenges of motivation and corruption among service personnel. Funding should therefore be prescribed and insulated at the FAAC level over a transitional period of ten years.

For instance, starting with a modest strength of 5,000 personnel per state, each paid ₦90,000 per month, together with an indirect operational investment of ₦110,000 per officer for equipment and mobility, the total monthly outlay comes to ₦1 billion. When infrastructure development is included, the average monthly cost rises to about ₦2 billion. States targeting higher numbers could pay three to four times as much monthly. Not many states can bear the burden when due. Yet, the failure to do so may spell doom for the State Police system. The danger is that an unpaid or poorly paid, armed state police officer may end up turning the gun on the people, becoming a new variant of Boko Haram, ISWAP, a kidnapper, or an armed robber.

Insulation from partisanship: The State Police Service should have no role in electoral matters, before, during, or after election cycles. INEC should work with the NPF. The idea is to reduce the extent of impunity by some unscrupulous state governors. The SPS bill is weak on this. It needs to be strengthened. Political contestation remains one of Nigeria’s most volatile frontiers of national peace and cohesion, stretching back to the First Republic. Lessons from the police’s involvement in the political crisis in Western Nigeria and the N.A. Police’s persecution of prominent opposition figures like Gambo Sawaba, P. Bassi of Biu, J.S.Tarka, and Ibrahim Imam of NEPU, UMBC, and BYM respectively during the First Republic should be instructive. The SPS should not have a statutory role in state electoral processes. This will be to forestall chaos.

Until the gap between words and actions is narrowed, many of Nigeria’s finest values will remain what they have increasingly become: beautiful clichés, slogans, and institutions whose practical worth is often no greater than the paper on which they are written. Until that changes, national security will continue to be an existential challenge for a nation that ranked 122nd out of 125 countries (4th worst ) on the World Internal Security and Police Index in 2023, ahead of only Venezuela, Uganda, and the DRC. The goverment shouldn’t be the proverbial “bad workman who blames his tools.” The new policing initiative must succeed.
A.G. Abubakar
agbarewa@gmail.com