Good day, Sir. 🇳🇬 As a concerned Nigerian whose father is a serving police officer, I would like to know your plans for improving the welfare, salaries, and pension scheme of junior-ranking police officers. Also, what are your plans to tackle insecurity and restore peace across Nigeria? May God bles

On tackling insecurity and restoring peace, my plan covers every part of Nigeria. I am committed to setting up Anti-Banditry and Kidnapping Special Units in every state command, made up of highly trained, mobile personnel, to strengthen the response to banditry and kidnapping. I will adopt a firehose principle for security coordination, driving continuous, high-volume coordination across jurisdictions so we get faster responses and stronger intelligence sharing. Bordering states will jointly plan operations, share intelligence in real time, and coordinate responses, and I will push for an independent Internal Affairs Agency to investigate misconduct within police and other security services. This is how we rescue your community from banditry, kidnapping, and cross-border crime.

I also want to reform and reorient the police into a true public service, moving from a regime-protection force to one focused on citizens. That means demilitarizing the police: gradually ending barracks as the default system of accommodation, and decentralizing deployment so mid- to lower-level officers serve closer to their states of residence. I will put clear controls around arrests and detention, with mandatory body cameras, cameras in interrogation rooms, and enforceable guidelines on the use of force and firearms. I will establish a multi-layered security system that reflects Nigeria's federal structure, to improve response times and ensure accountability at every level.

I am also committed to increasing the number of police officers nationwide, to meet the international standard of one officer for every 450 citizens. This means launching a phased national recruitment and training programme to expand police numbers at the federal, state and local levels.

Beyond our borders, I believe Nigeria's internal security also depends on rebuilding ECOWAS. I will adopt a firehose approach to diplomacy and security, driving continuous, high-volume coordination across West Africa, leading reforms within ECOWAS to strengthen collective security frameworks and rapid response mechanisms, establishing continuous intelligence-sharing and joint operations among member states against terrorism, banditry, and transnational crime, and aligning regional policies and resources to respond quickly to threats across borders.

I have also said that our security architecture needs to be rejigged as a matter of priority, because the current state of insecurity, from terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, and cattle rustling, continues to affect communities and agricultural production, especially in the Northern parts of the country. I remain a reform advocate, and I believe Nigerian security forces have the capacity to take on the insecurity confronting this country, once given the right political leadership.

Sources:
• Party Manifesto 2027-2031, 2026-10-05, page 30 (MANIFESTO OF THE AFRICAN DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS (ADC))
“2. Reform and reorient the police into a true public service. Transition from a colonial-style, regime-protection force to a citizen-focused policing system.…”
• Party Manifesto 2027-2031, 2026-10-05, page 35 (5.1. EDUCATION (UNDER HUMAN)
“Details: ● Introduce subsidized public transport for students and senior citizens nationwide ● Partner with state governments and transport operators to impl…”
• Party Manifesto 2027-2031, 2026-10-05, page 29 (3.1. POLICE REFORM (UNDER SECURITY))
“The ADC will: 1. Increase the number of police officers nationwide. We will meet the international standard of one police officer for every 450 citizens, str…”
• Article by @atiku on X · https://x.com/atiku/status/2105647953729769974, 2026-10-01 (Article on X)
“Again, Bola, you told Nigerians that salaries and pensions are being paid “on time and in full.” Tell that to the military pensioners who protested over unpa…”
• Candidate-approved answer, 2026-10-14, page 1 (CANDIDATE-APPROVED ANSWER)
“My plan to tackle insecurity covers every part of Nigeria, the North West included. I am committed to setting up Anti-Banditry and Kidnapping Special Units i…”
• Post by @atiku …