General
BPRS Suggests Effective Bail System to Nigeria Police
By Dipo Olowookere
Ways to effectively manage internal complaints mechanism and the process for obtaining bail at police stations across the country have been recommended to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Ibrahim Idris.
The suggestions were contained in a report presented by the Acting Director General of Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPRS), Mr D.I Arabi, recently.
Mr Arabi hinted that the exercise was conducted between October 2017 to February 2018 across the six geo-political zones and FCT, selecting one state each from the zones in line with the approval of the police chief given earlier in September 2017, for BPSR request to conduct two research studies on the Nigeria Police Force.
The studies were: Institutional Assessment of the Police internal complaints mechanism; and mapping the process of obtaining bail at the Nigeria police stations.
The assessments were carried out in six States Police Command Formations selected from the Zones, they include: Akwa-Ibom, Borno, Edo, Enugu, Kano and Lagos; and the FCT.
According to the BPSR chief, the main objective of the study was to identity the challenges that have hindered the effectiveness of the police internal complaints mechanism; to identify the specific barriers and bottle necks in the bail process that hampers the effectiveness and efficiency of the process and to provide evidence based recommendations for reforms to improve efficiency in the internal complaints mechanism and the bail process.
For an effective assessment, BPSR adopted some approaches which include meetings and interviews with senior police officers at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, the State Commissioners of Police and other police personnel that were available at the selected States Police Commands and Formations in those zones.
Other approaches were the group discussions with diverse stakeholders, enabling them to collate diverse perspectives on the issues at stake. The studies identified gaps and also designed scenarios for improvements in structure, manpower deployment and the bail process mapping.
The highlight of the research studies was the presentation of the three key findings and the recommendations in each of the report. The first report explains clearly that there was no strategic plan or a strategic planning process that guides the activities of the force and the operations of the internal complaints mechanism towards attaining its mandate, consequently, work plans are either non-existent or are not linked to long term operational and strategic goals.
Among other findings are the PCB complaints desks that are poorly manned in terms of staffing and skills, especially in Kano where there was a great challenge on skills sets. There is also lack of requisite skills among majority of police officers manning public complaints desks at all levels.
Mr Arabi said that training the officers will equip them with intelligence gathering, data collection and analysis and human rights observances in order to display high sense of human relations and mediations.
Speaking on the bail process, Mr Arabi emphasized the need for uniform guidelines and standard operating procedure which according to him will minimize if not remove all forms of hindrances that had hitherto exposed the bail process to abuses.
On the recommendations; he emphasized that the NPF should standardize the operating procedure which will remove all forms of hindrances that had exposed the bail process to abuses.
The acting DG also advocated that the NPF should have standardized practices regarding arrest, detention and bail of suspects in the 36 states in the country and the FCT.
This would help design a functional referral system for civil cases between police and conflicts resolution agents such as courts and traditional rulers. He further reiterated the need for funding and resourcing mechanism for policing and police welfare. This will enable the Force to develop and implement strategies for creating awareness about the internal complaints mechanism.
According to the DG, if the recommendations are faithfully implemented, the NPF will become more effective and the IGP would have succeeded in putting in place an appropriate system for the Force which would further strengthen basic management capacity within the Nigeria Police Force.
Mr Arabi thanked Mr Idris for the opportunity afforded BPSR on this remarkable exercise and equally expressed profound gratitude to the Commissioners of Police in Akwa-Ibom, Borno, Edo, Enugu, Kano and Lagos for their diligence and support.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
President Bola Tinubu on Thursday directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to vacate the court ordering the freezing of the bank account of the Osun Srate government.
In a statement today by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, the President said he’s “deeply embarrassed not by the EFCC’s exercise of its mandate backed by a court order” because of its timing, which is just a few days to the governorship election in the state next Saturday.
According to him, actions of an institution of State, especially at the Federal level, is always credited to me, as the President, even when I may not have had any prior knowledge of the action.
“Since assuming office, I have consistently maintained that anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies must be allowed to discharge their statutory responsibilities independently, professionally, without fear or favour, or political interference. I have therefore deliberately refrained from directing or interfering in the operational activities of the EFCC or any other investigative or prosecutorial agency because I firmly believe that strong democratic institutions, operating within the confines of the law, are indispensable to democratic good governance and the rule of law.
“As President, I am committed to allowing institutions of State to function and take any action they consider necessary in the interest of proper governance without the need for any prior approval. Indeed, that is why institutions are set up by law with clearly defined powers. While I am yet to be fully apprised of the facts which informed the action of EFCC in approaching the court to obtain the said order freezing the Osun State Government account, I am not in the slightest doubt that the timing of the action of EFCC is inauspicious, and therefore I feel compelled to intervene.
“Osun State is only a few days away from its gubernatorial election. Therefore, nothing ought to be done to give an impression that the EFCC or indeed any other agency of the federal government is being used to interfere with the election.
“Based on the foregoing premise, I am duty-bound to issue a directive on this issue in consonance with the overriding public interest in preserving public confidence and the integrity, credibility, and fairness of our democratic process.
“Accordingly, I have directed the EFCC to immediately proceed to the court to vacate the order and discontinue whatever action it has instituted against the Osun State Government in this regard,” the statement stated.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has explained why it initiated a move to freeze the bank account of the Osun State government.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Governor of Osun State, Mr Ademola Adeleke, claimed that the anti-money laundering agency asked one of its bankers, First Bank, not to release funds to the state government.
According to the Governor, this was part of the strategies to frustrate his administration ahead of the August 15, 2026, governorship election in the state.
Reacting to the issue on Wednesday night, the EFCC, in a statement, said it has been investigating the state government since March 2026 over an alleged “fraudulent handling of Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds and Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) account to the tune of N11.0 billion.
The organisation noted that some officials of the state government, especially the Accountant General of the State, have had interview sessions with investigators of the EFCC.
“These ongoing investigations of the state government would not have warranted any placement of Post No Debit order on its account but for the precipitate and unwarranted movement of funds from the accounts to different suspicious accounts since August 2, 2026.
“The commission noticed huge transfers of funds into different corporate entities and had to swiftly halt the trend by freezing the accounts from which such heavy funds are being moved,” parts of the statement said.
In the disclosure, the agency noted that its preventive mandate is a public-inclined framework of safeguarding public funds, assets and resources, stressing that it cannot “watch idly while a state government’s account is being pillaged.”
“While the commission is fully aware of the impending governorship election in Osun State, it has a responsibility to act in defence of the sanctity of the funds of the state. It will be uncharitable for the commission to allow an excuse of an upcoming election to fold its arms to perform its legally-assigned functions,” it pointed out.
The EFCC disclosed that it is “keeping watch over the finances of other states like Osun State. Many of these states are on the investigative radar of the commission to ensure accountability and probity. The commission has always pointed out that it is non-partisan and non-sectarian but always working in the overall interests of Nigerians. The Osun State government account was frozen to save public funds from being looted.”
The organisation urged the public “to ignore false narratives and deliberate demonisation of the works of the EFCC. The interests of all Nigerians are greater and will always be protected by the commission.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has launched a mobile application designed to monitor fuel consumption patterns in real time across retail outlets nationwide.
The NMDPRA, established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, is responsible for the technical and commercial regulation of Nigeria’s midstream and downstream petroleum operations. The deployment of the mobile application aligns with the authority’s broader efforts to leverage technology to improve regulatory compliance and strengthen accountability.
The pilot phase of the project began on August 1 in Abuja and its six Area Councils, the authority said in a statement published on X.
As part of the rollout, the Executive Director for Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure (DSSRI), Mr Ogbugo Ukoha, led a team alongside officials from the Abuja Regional Office to assess the readiness and operational performance of the digital platform at participating retail outlets.
According to the NMDPRA, the application captures inventory and compliance data in real time, enabling regulators to monitor fuel distribution more effectively while improving operational efficiency across the sector.
The authority said the platform would generate reliable, data-driven insights to support evidence-based decision-making, strengthen national energy security planning and enhance transparency in the downstream petroleum industry.
It added that the initiative is expected to provide significant value to government, investors, operators and other stakeholders by improving access to accurate fuel consumption and compliance data.
Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector has undergone significant changes since the deregulation of the petrol market and the removal of fuel subsidies, with regulators placing greater emphasis on data-driven supervision to ensure product availability, prevent supply disruptions and discourage sharp regional disparities in distribution.
