President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday decorated newly appointed Acting Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tunji Disu with his new rank at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The ceremony doubled as Disu’s swearing-in, drawing top government officials and family members of the new IGP.
Disu now serves as Nigeria’s 23rd Inspector-General of Police.
Disu, speaking to State House Correspondents expressed overwhelming gratitude to President Tinubu, describing his appointment as a challenge to deliver peace amid banditry and insurgency.
The AIGP, visibly emotional, said: “First, the appointment means a lot to me… because I have the love of my profession, the love of the country, and it came at a time I was not expecting it, that makes me give thanks to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for his magnanimity.”
He credited Tinubu’s praise of his record for nearly bringing him to tears: “The President mentioning a lot of activities about me, mentioning areas I’ve worked, mentioning successes I’ve recorded as a policeman, brought emotion to me… It shows the President took his time to monitor officers working everywhere in the country, and then it shows the President was throwing a challenge at me to go out there and do what I’m known for, and ensure that I bring peace, recognition, and calm to the country.”
Outlining his vision, Disu declared: “My top priority for Nigeria… I’m going to talk to them, let them know that the citizen of the country, are the boss. It’s very, very important for them to know that no police anywhere in the world can succeed without the cooperation of members of the public.”
He charged officers: “I will let them know that the area of impunity is over. I will ensure that I train them and encourage them to ensure they follow human rights. I will ensure that they know that I will try to follow a regime of zero tolerance to corruption, and most importantly, I’m going to drum it into them that we can never succeed without the cooperation of members of the public.”
On insecurity, he added: “The country is facing a particular problem now, issue of banditry, insurgency. I know all police officers around have been doing their best. They are hardworking people. All I need to do is to channel their morale and their thoughts to make anything better.”
Outgoing IGP Kayode Egbetokun, stepping aside after expressing thanks to Tinubu—from his days as Lagos CSO to IGP—celebrated the successor he mentored.
“I am particularly excited that I am handing over today to someone with whom I share a unique history. We both had the real privilege of benefiting from the mentorship of Mr. President… dating back to his days as governor of Lagos State,” Egbetokun said.
He recalled Tinubu’s wisdom: “He once said that a good leader should have a successor, a succession plan, and must invest in his likeliest successors. I invested in likely successors in the Nigerian police force, and I’m happy that one of those… has been found most suitable for the job.”
Egbetokun detailed Disu’s roles: “He was my PSO, he was CP in Rivers and FCT, he was AIG in charge of my SPU when Mr. President gave the order to withdraw police from VIP protection… and he did it so well.” His advice: “He should continue to show commitment to the things that we have been doing together…
intelligence coordination, improving inter-agency deployment model, dismantling several criminal syndicates. I’m sure he’s going to continue to do that… I have so much confidence that he would surpass what I have done.”