Sowore Sounds The Alarm: “No Security Without Motivated Police!”

Sowore: Nigeria’s Security Depends on a Motivated and Respected Police Force

Presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has warned that Nigeria’s internal security crisis will persist unless the federal government urgently addresses the welfare, training, and morale of the Nigeria Police Force.

According to iReporter Online, Sowore made this assertion on Monday in Abuja while speaking in solidarity with retired police officers who were protesting at the gates of the National Assembly.

The retirees, many of them elderly, carried placards demanding their removal from the contributory pension scheme (CPS), which they say has subjected them to years of hardship and post-retirement uncertainty.

The protesters called on President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly to reinstate the defined benefits pension system that was formerly applicable to public servants.

Describing the police as the backbone of Nigeria’s internal security, Sowore emphasized that continued neglect of the force’s needs—particularly in terms of fair remuneration, equipment, and professional development—has significantly undermined its effectiveness.

“The moment you don’t have the police force, you have no security,” he stated. “You don’t pay them, you don’t train them, you don’t equip them—the police will withdraw because you’re not taking care of them.”

According to iReporter Online, Sowore expressed deep concern over the federal government’s failure to harness the full potential of the police force, which, he noted, has a larger workforce than the Nigerian Army.

“The army has about 120,000 personnel, while the police have over 250,000 men and women,” he said. “Yet they are sidelined in internal security management.”

He argued that Nigeria’s deteriorating security landscape, from the north to the south, stems directly from the failure to build a properly motivated, well-equipped, and professionally trained police force.

“An average police officer should not only have access to the best equipment, but also the assurance that if they die in service, it’s not in vain. That’s what life insurance is for,” he added.

Sowore further criticized the gross misuse of police personnel as personal bodyguards to the wealthy and politically powerful, stating that nearly half of Nigeria’s police officers are currently serving as VIP escorts—many of them to corrupt individuals, “without solving the problem of poor police motivation, training, pay, and equipment, internal security will remain a fantasy,” he warned.

According to iReporter Online, Sowore described the protest by retired officers as a serious moral indictment of the nation’s leadership. He insisted that a government that mistreats its security personnel cannot demand effective policing in return, “if we want to end the bloodshed across Nigeria, we must first take over the National Assembly and make it work for the people,” he declared.

In response to the protest, the Nigeria Police Force announced that the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has scheduled a meeting with the retired officers. The meeting, aimed at addressing their grievances and finding a peaceful resolution, is expected to take place at the Peacekeeping Hall of the Force Headquarters in Abuja.

”IREPORTER REPORTS”