In a major effort to secure Nigeria’s democratic process, the Nigeria Police Trust Fund, in partnership with the Nigeria Police Force, officially flagged off a five-day nationwide capacity-building program on Thursday, October 22, 2026, aimed at training 10,000 police officers on election security management ahead of the 2027 general elections.
​The flag-off ceremony commenced at the Nigeria Police Resource Centre in Jabi, Abuja. The initiative marks the beginning of the program’s first phase, spanning designated centers across 18 states and the Federal Capital Territory before expanding nationwide.
​Addressing attendees at the launch, Mohammed Sheidu, Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund, reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to equipping the police force with operational gear, enhanced mobility, and continuous training.
Sheidu emphasized that the initiative is structured to ensure officers deployed for election duties are prepared to carry out their responsibilities with strict discipline, absolute impartiality, and professional excellence.
​In his keynote address, Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Disu charged all participating personnel to remain strictly non-partisan, neutral, and accountable throughout the electoral process. Disu noted that professional and impartial policing remains essential to credible elections, warning that any officer who compromises the neutrality of the Force will face strict disciplinary action.
​The intensive five-day curriculum covers critical aspects of electoral policing, ranging from crowd control and conflict prevention to de-escalating tensions at polling units.
Participating officers are undergoing instruction on human rights standards, intelligence gathering, and strategies to prevent political violence, ballot-box snatching, voter intimidation, and vote-buying. The training also emphasizes inter-agency coordination with sister security agencies and the Independent National Electoral Commission.
​The ceremony brought together key security chiefs and institutional representatives, including Rear Admiral Sadiq Malaja (rtd.), representing the INEC Chairman; Brigadier General J.A. Ifeanyi, representing the Chief of Army Staff; Group Captain Yakubu Yusuf, representing the Chief of Air Staff; Deputy Comptroller-General Zakari Ibrahim, representing the Commandant-General of the Civil Defence Corps; and Afam O. Okeke, General Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association.
​By preparing frontline personnel well ahead of the poll, security authorities aim to set a uniform operational standard across commands nationwide, ensuring a safe, transparent, and violence-free environment for voters in 2027.
