The security environment in Nigeria is characterised by a high degree of complexity and rapid evolution. Conflicts, criminal syndicates, and insurgencies are becoming increasingly adaptive, moving away from predictable patterns and utilising modern tools to sustain their operations. This dynamic landscape necessitates a fundamental re-evaluation of law enforcement strategies. The leadership of the Nigeria Police Force, the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, Ph.D., NPM, has issued policy statements suggesting that the principal agency for internal security in Nigeria, the NPF, is engaged in a strategic re-evaluation that ordinarily should signal a new direction and that presents technology not as a simple add-on but as a foundational element of modern policing strategy—a tool essential for anticipating threats and responding with precision. But this vision is plagued by a myriad of unseen barriers that, if not tackled, will prevent the actualisation of the adoption of technology by the NPF.
On September 22, 2025, the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, Ph.D., NPM, during the Executive Capacity Building Workshop for senior police officers and as a direct response to the evolving threat landscape in Nigeria, stated that the Nigeria Police Force’s (NPF’s) leadership must be “faster, sharper, and more innovative than the threats we confront.” The IGP further identified the “use of technology in intelligence gathering” as a key focus area for the workshop, highlighting its importance as a strategic weapon against modern threats. The NPF, according to the IGP, must combine “foresight, creativity, and agility to lead in an environment of constant flux,” a direct counter to adversaries who exploit technology to sustain their operations.
Earlier in the month, at a meeting with the NPF’s Border Patrol Commanders, the IGP called on them to “…anticipate, innovate, and outthink criminal elements”… and said that “the Nigeria Police Force cannot tackle 21st-century crimes with 20th-century tools. That is why we must embrace technology – surveillance systems, drones, biometric scanners, and real-time data analysis.” The IGP had made a similar call on July 22, 2025, at the Force Headquarters in Abuja, on the occasion of receiving a strategic research paper from participants of the National Defence College (NDC), “To remain effective and relevant, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) must embrace innovation and technology.” He emphasised that “technology-driven solutions would significantly enhance operational efficiency, intelligence gathering, crime prevention, and rapid response capabilities.”
The IGP’s statements align with modern thinking on policing across the globe. The global discourse on law enforcement has shifted from a reactive to a proactive model, driven by the strategic deployment of advanced technologies. From predictive analytics to real-time data fusion and biometric systems, the tools of modern policing are designed to enhance operational effectiveness, enable intelligence-led operations, and improve public safety outcomes.
The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has made a concerted effort to modernise its operations by integrating technology, a strategic move championed by the Inspector General of Police to enhance efficiency, intelligence gathering, and rapid response capabilities. This push for digital transformation is evidenced by several key initiatives, including the Police Specialised Services Automation Project (POSSAP), an online portal that automates fee-based services such as character clearances and firearm licences to improve transparency and public perception. The force has also adopted “soft technologies” through its Public Complaints Rapid Response Unit (PCRRU), which utilises social media platforms and dedicated phone lines to allow citizens to report misconduct directly, thereby bypassing bureaucratic obstacles. Furthermore, the establishment of the National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC) positions the force as a key authority in combating online threats, with documented successes in investigating and dismantling cybercrime operations and arresting suspects involved in scams and identity theft. These efforts are supported by the NPF’s formal Department of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), which provides personnel with essential skills and manages vital electronic databases, like the Automatic Fingerprint Identification System and the Police Biometric Central Motor Registry (BCMR), showcasing an institutional commitment to digital modernisation.
However, the vision of a “future-ready” police force in Nigeria is being undermined by a profound strategic chasm—a gap between the ambition to acquire technology and the foundational readiness to implement it. As it is currently in the NPF, simply acquiring new hardware and software is a superficial approach that is destined for failure. The most critical gaps in Nigeria’s policing-technology landscape are not technological at all; they are fundamental, systemic failures rooted in infrastructure, fiscal integrity, human capital, and, most critically, a crisis of governance and public trust.
The central paradox is this: technology introduced into a system riddled with corruption and a lack of accountability will not improve efficiency. Instead, it is rendered useless by the very environment it is meant to transform. Chronic infrastructural deficiencies, such as frequent power outages and unreliable internet connectivity, mean that even the most advanced systems are prone to frequent downtimes and underutilisation. This forces a regression to manual documentation, a method that is both inefficient and highly susceptible to manipulation and bribery. The pervasive reliance on cash-based transactions, payment for services into personal accounts and the “perverse system of ‘returns'” within the force mean that funds intended for digital modernisation are often embezzled or syphoned off, leading to a vicious cycle of poor performance and public distrust.
Furthermore, without a robust framework for accountability and ethical use, technology can be co-opted into the existing corrupt system, becoming a tool for further oppression and human rights abuses. For example, the legal framework, the Cybercrime Act of 2015, intended to combat online fraud, has been widely criticised for its broad language that has been misused by authorities to “clamp down on social media critics” and journalists. This misuse directly undermines the force’s credibility and makes citizens hesitant to cooperate with digital initiatives meant to foster transparency. The result is a poor harvest of critical intelligence and an ongoing deterioration of police-community relations.
Drawing on global trends and the NPF’s own stated objectives, the force could significantly enhance its Research and Development (R&D) efforts by leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). The Nigeria Police Trust Fund (NPTF) has a core mission to advance the NPF through R&D, focusing on data-driven insights and pioneering new technologies. AI and ML would be critical to this mission, as they can rapidly sort and analyse massive datasets—far faster and more accurately than a human—to identify patterns and links between reported crimes. This capability would allow the NPF’s R&D department to move beyond traditional, manual methods and develop more sophisticated, intelligence-led strategies for crime prevention and control. For example, AI-powered systems could analyse historical crime data to identify “hotspots” and predict where criminal activity is most likely to occur, enabling a more proactive and efficient deployment of resources. This would also assist in solving complex cases like financial fraud, identity theft, and organised crime by integrating and correlating data from multiple sources to uncover hidden connections and suspicious indicators. Another example is to use AI to analyse the vexing “stop and search” policing method, which arguably is one of the primary reasons for the huge trust gap between the NPF and Nigerians. The ultimate goal would be to use these insights to inform the development of smarter policies, modern training modules, and improved operational strategies, ensuring the force is better equipped to respond to evolving security threats and align with global policing standards.
We call on the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Ministry of Police Affairs, the National Assembly and development partners keen on advancing police reform to support addressing these unseen barriers. In doing this, let us avoid reinventing the wheel and reach out to the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy, embracing its existing platforms and ongoing evolution.
Ultimately, the strategic roadmap for the NPFs and indeed Nigeria’s law enforcement transformation must move beyond a simple shopping list of technological tools. It must focus on building a sustainable institutional foundation first. The true measure of a modern police force will not be the sophistication of its technology, but its capacity to leverage that technology to rebuild a new foundation of transparency, professionalism, and enduring public trust.
Kabir Adamu is the Managing Director of Beacon Security and Intelligence Limited.
