Assistant Inspector-General Tunji Disu has been appointed as Nigeria’s Inspector-General of Police, pending Senate confirmation, following a career defined by strategic crime-fighting and high-profile security operations.
The Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of the Force Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Annex, Lagos, Tunji Disu, has been appointed as Nigeria’s Inspector-General of Police, subject to confirmation by the Nigerian Senate. Before his elevation, Disu served as Commissioner of Police in the Federal Capital Territory and Rivers State, and was later deployed to Abuja by former IGP Kayode Egbetokun. Throughout his career in the Nigeria Police Force, he has held several strategic roles, including leadership positions in the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), anti-kidnapping units and state criminal investigation departments.
During the 2020 EndSARS protests, Disu, then Commander of the Lagos State Police Rapid Response Squad (RRS), adopted a people-centred policing approach that drew commendation. Under his leadership, RRS ambulances were deployed to provide medical assistance to injured protesters, while his engagement style reportedly helped rebuild trust between officers and civilians. He also played a central role in the arrest of notorious kidnap kingpin Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike, popularly known as Evans, who was apprehended at his Magodo residence in Lagos in a major breakthrough against organised kidnapping and violent crime.
In another high-profile operation, Disu led investigations that resulted in the recovery of stolen iPhones traced from South Africa to Computer Village in Ikeja, Lagos, earning commendation from South African authorities. The operation contributed to Lagos State’s recognition by Security Watch Africa in 2016 as one of the continent’s safest states, with the RRS emerging as the best anti-crime police unit in West Africa. As Commissioner of Police in Rivers State, he also spearheaded a decisive crackdown on violent cult groups destabilising communities, further strengthening his reputation as a firm and strategic law enforcement leader.
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