Human rights organisation, the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre, RULAAC, has reacted to the press release issued by the Imo State Commissioner of Police, Audu Bosso, where he stressed the Command’s commitment to discipline and professionalism among its personnel.
In a statement to the press signed by the Executive Director of RULAAC, Okechukwu Nwanguma, the organisation commended the Commissioner but urged him to ensure that discipline and professionalism are actually pursued. Nwanguma posited that the Commissioner’s declaration sprang from RULAAC interventions and the creation of awareness of the human rights abuses prevalent in Imo State.
“The Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) notes the Imo State Police Command’s press release of 4 August 2026 in which the Commissioner of Police, CP Audu Garba Bosso, reaffirmed the Command’s commitment to professionalism, discipline, accountability, and intelligence-led policing.
While these assurances are welcome, they come after a series of disturbing incidents, many of which had already been brought to the attention of the Command through RULAAC’s public statements, petitions, documented reports, and direct engagements over the past two years.
As far back as 2024, concerns about police misconduct towards young people had already been publicly raised at the First Imo Youth and Women Dialogue on Insecurity and Crime Prevention, co-sponsored by the Africa Youth Initiative for Crime Prevention (AYICRIP), RULAAC, and the Imo State Police Command. During that dialogue, the National President of the National Association of Imo State Students (NAISS), Comrade Obi Okechukwu Anthony, lamented the persistent harassment of students within campuses by police officers. Rather than subjecting students to unwarranted intimidation, he urged the Police to engage them as partners in campus safety initiatives and crime prevention efforts.
That intervention was an important early warning. Unfortunately, the concerns expressed by students were not addressed with the urgency they deserved. Subsequently, RULAAC continued to issue public alerts, including its statement, “Young People Are Not Walking ATMs”: RULAAC Tackles Imo Police Over Alleged Extortion and Harassment, documenting persistent allegations of extortion, harassment, arbitrary arrests, and other abuses targeting young people. Had the Command made prompt, effective, and professional use of these warnings and acted decisively, many of the egregious violations that have since emerged—including those the Command is now responding to—could have been prevented.
Intelligence-led policing is not confined to responding to criminal threats. It also requires police leadership to identify patterns of misconduct within the Force, act on credible complaints from citizens and civil society organisations, and prevent abuses before they escalate into public scandals that undermine public confidence.
The recent viral incidents and the disciplinary measures now being announced merely reinforce what RULAAC and other stakeholders have consistently maintained: effective supervision, accountability, and early intervention are indispensable to professional policing.
We therefore urge the Commissioner of Police to ensure that the commitments contained in his statement are translated into concrete institutional reforms rather than remaining reactive responses to public outrage. This includes strengthening internal accountability mechanisms, promptly investigating complaints, sanctioning erring officers, protecting complainants from reprisals, institutionalising regular engagement with civil society organisations, youth groups, and student bodies, and embracing early warning as an essential component of intelligence-led policing.
Public confidence in the Police will be restored not by declarations alone, but through consistent, transparent, and measurable actions demonstrating that misconduct is prevented, detected early, and addressed decisively without fear or favour.
RULAAC remains committed to constructive engagement with the Nigeria Police Force in advancing accountable, rights-respecting, intelligence-led, and community-oriented policing in Imo State and across Nigeria.
- Okechukwu Nwanguma, Executive Director.
