Dataphyte Foundation, PCPS Partners Engage IGP Disu on State Policing, People-centered Public Safety Reforms

Dataphyte Foundation led its People-centred Public Safety (PCPS) Partners, including Lawyers Alert, CJID, Nextier, CLEEN Foundation, Citizens’ Gavel and SERAP, to pay a courtesy visit to the Inspector General of Police, Olatunji Disu, on Monday, June 8, 2026, to discuss areas of potential collaboration in contributing to strengthening the mandate of the Nigeria police force.

During the visit, Dataphyte’s Country Director, Oluseyi Olufemi, and Head of Policy, Research and Communication (PRC), Khadija Kareem, presented to the IGP, Dataphyte’s Cost of State Policing policy brief, highlighting the key findings and data-driven recommendations that can help shape policy direction in the ongoing national conversation on state policing in Nigeria.

The brief outlined the key structural breakdown of police personnel and financing, as well as the estimated cost of operationalising state policing across the country. It also highlighted Nigeria's current situation with comparative regional and global standards and recommended an evidence-driven approach to strengthening state policing and people-centred safety and security in Nigeria. 

The team also discussed Dataphyte’s Police Service Access Gap Survey and Police Needs Assessment Survey, highlighting the importance of understanding citizens’ perceptions of the police and identifying the needs, challenges, and capacity gaps within the police force to support effective, people-centred policing and data-driven policymaking to enhance security in Nigeria.

Furthermore, the IGP was briefed on the Open Society Foundation (OSF)- supported PCPS project, which aimed to strengthen local actors by enhancing their capacity, networks, and data to improve people-centred safety in Nigeria.

The President of Lawyers Alert, Dr Rommy Mom, emphasised the significance of the PCPS approach in strengthening safety and security at the grassroots level in Nigeria and its contribution to institutionalising Community Policing Committees (CPCs) across the project-implementing states (Benue and Bayelsa States).

He also acknowledged the collective efforts of the implementing partners from the operationalisation of the CPCs, as stated in the Nigeria Police Act 2020, to amplifying data-driven, community-centred storytelling, strengthening early-warning information exchange, enhancing community resilience and empowerment, as well as strategic litigation for accountability, oversight, and enhanced policy change for social development.

While concluding the engagement, with the broader objective of the project of promoting public safety, peace, and stronger community-police relations across Nigeria, the stakeholders also commit to enhancing collaboration towards the shared goal of strengthening safety and security in Nigeria.