Awajis George News

 By: Awajis Josiah-Chijindu  The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, today, Monday, 12th October 2026, declared open the Small Arms and Light Weapons Identification and Tracing (SALW-IT) Simulation Programme in Abuja.  The five-day programme, running from 12th to 16th October 2026, is designed to strengthen participants’ capacity to identify, mark, register and trace small arms, light weapons and ammunition. In his remarks, the IGP described illicit arms proliferation as a major threat to peace and security across Africa, fuelling terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and organised crime.  He noted that effective weapons tracing helps investigators uncover trafficking networks, financiers and supply routes, enabling targeted action against illicit arms trafficking. The IGP highlighted the programme’s relevance to preparations for Nigeria’s upcoming elections.  A statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, said IGP noted that dis...

  The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, has approved the posting of new Police Public Relations Officers and Public Relations Liaison Officers to selected Commands and Formations of the Nigeria Police Force, as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen strategic communication, improve public access to credible Police information and enhance engagement with the media and other stakeholders. Accordingly, SP Johnson A. Doghudje has been posted as Police Public Relations Officer, Zone 5, and can be reached on 08038773657; SP Ojedele Olanrewaju Tunji, anipr, has been posted to Zone 11, Osogbo, and can be reached on 09152481510. Also, DSP Orchia Adndongu has been posted to the Benue State Police Command and can be reached on 07013495466; while DSP Imah Unwana Victor has been posted to the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC) and can be reached on 08038281577. Similarly, ASP Abdulaziz Maharazu has been posted to the Police Academy (POLAC) and can be ...

By Awajis Josiah-Chijindu Members of the Violent Crime Response Unit of the Rivers State Police Command under the leadership of CP Olugbenga Adepoju have donated N1.150m to 11 patients at the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital, Old GRA, Port Harcourt. The gesture formed part of activities marking the official launch of the VCRU, which is scheduled to hold on Saturday, October 10, 2026. The VCRU team, led by its Commander, CSP Julian Wealth, visited the children's and postnatal wards of the hospital on Thursday, where it provided financial assistance to the patients to help offset their medical bills. Speaking with journalists after the visit, Wealth said the gesture was aimed at demonstrating the people-oriented policing philosophy of the Nigeria Police Force and showing that police officers were concerned about the welfare of members of the public. He said, “As part of activities to officially launch the unit on Saturday, October 10, 2026, we decided to contribute money to ...

By: Awajis Josiah-Chijindu  Operatives of the Nigeria Police Force, in collaboration with other security agencies, have successfully rescued the 20 prospective NYSC corps members who were abducted in Imo State on 1st October, 2026. The victims were rescued at about 4:28 p.m. on 7th October, 2026, at Amakohia Ubi Village, Imo State, following sustained and coordinated search-and-rescue operations by the security agencies. A statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Anietie Iniedu, said following their safe rescue, the victims have been taken for medical examination and necessary medical attention as part of the post-rescue process. The successful rescue followed sustained operational coordination and collaboration among the security agencies involved in the search-and-rescue effort. According to the statement, efforts are ongoing to apprehend the suspects responsible for the abduction, as the Police and other security agencies continue to intensify operations towards brin...

By: Awajis Josiah-Chijindu  The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, today, 5th October 2026, paid his maiden official visit as Inspector-General of Police to the INTERPOL General Secretariat in Lyon, France, as part of efforts to deepen international police cooperation and strengthen the Nigeria Police Force’s response to transnational crime. During the visit, the IGP met with the INTERPOL Secretary General, Mr Valdecy Urquiza, and other senior officials of the organisation, with discussions focused on enhancing cooperation in cybercrime, counter-terrorism, financial crime, organised crime, fugitive tracking, intelligence sharing and the effective use of INTERPOL databases and policing tools. A statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP ANI INIEDU, said the engagement also provided an opportunity to review Nigeria’s participation in INTERPOL-supported initiatives and explore further areas of technical and operational collaboration aimed at strengthening...

By: Lanre Olagunju When the distress call came from Ayilamo, Logo Local Government Area of Benue State, the people on the other end knew what it meant. Armed men had invaded the community.  Residents were under attack. The police responded. Officers from the Police Mobile Force, tactical teams and conventional units moved towards the danger and engaged the attackers for several hours before forcing them to retreat into the surrounding forest.  By the time the shooting stopped, seven civilians and four police officers were dead. The officers were identified as “ASP Paul Ina, Inspector Mohammed Yusuf, Inspector Oge Ikechukwu and Inspector Edeh Andrew”. Their bodies were later recovered from the surrounding bushes. There is a tendency to read an incident like this through the cold language of security reporting: four officers killed, seven civilians killed, attackers repelled, suspects fled. The language is necessary, but it can also make terrible things sound ordinary.  Fou...

By Evelyn Usman On February 25, 2026, IGP Olatunji Disu took charge of the Nigeria Police Force with a solemn promise not to squander the confidence reposed in him. Today, that pledge is being tested against the hard realities of policing Nigeria , the crimes fought, the reforms pursued, the officers disciplined and the continuing effort to rebuild confidence in the Force. When the number one cop in Nigeria, IGP Disu assumed office as the 23rd indigenous Inspector-General of Police, he inherited more than a crime-fighting institution. He took over a Force grappling with the longstanding challenges of crime prevention, public confidence, internal discipline and operational effectiveness. Since then, the police leadership has sought to reshape its approach around intelligence-led operations, internal accountability, tactical restructuring and closer engagement with communities. A career officer with a strong operational background, Disu had served as Assistant Inspector-General of Police...

By: Awajis Josiah-Chijindu  The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, has deployed the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, DIG Shehu Umar Nadada, to Imo State to provide operational direction for the ongoing search-and-rescue mission of the prospective NYSC corps members and other passengers abducted along the Owerri-Onitsha Road, Umunoha, on 1st October 2026. The DIG Operations arrived the State with two Commissioners of Police and conducted an on-the-spot assessment of the situation and the ongoing search-and-rescue efforts of the Command CP. He also reviewed the operational strategies, deployment of personnel as well as operational assets, and provided further directives to strengthen the coordinated response. A statement by the Force  Public Relations Officer, CSP Anietie Iniedu, stated that the assessment was conducted alongside the Commissioner of Police, Imo State Command, CP Audu Garba Bosso, the Commissioner of Police, Federal Operati...

By: Awajis Josiah-Chijindu  The Women in Innovation and Tech Initiative, WITI has called on the Rivers State House of Assembly to include gender mainstream into the Rivers State Climate Change Bill with focus on education.  Executive Director WITI, Deborah Iroegbu while speaking at the sideline of the Stakeholders engagement meeting on ''Incorporating Provision for Education in the Rivers State Climate Change Bill 2026'', said government institutions, CSOs and the media were gathered  together by the organization to brainstorm on the way forward for the educational system in Rivers State. The WITI Executive Director, explained that Climate issues like flooding  affects the ability of schools  in Rivers State to maintain clean and safe education.  She noted that there is reduction in attendance to school as students find it difficult to attend schools when flooding occurs. The Executive Director who seeks the inclusion of the provision for education into the...

  The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, was today, 26th September 2026, honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the St. Gregory’s College Old Boys Association at a grand reception held in Lagos State. The IGP was honoured alongside the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr. Olayemi Cardoso at the event, which celebrated distinguished old boys who have made remarkable contributions in their respective fields of national service and leadership. The award recognised the IGP’s distinguished career in public service, leadership and over three decades of service to the Nigeria Police Force, as well as his professional accomplishments since leaving St. Gregory’s College, where he completed his secondary education in 1985. The recognition highlighted the IGP’s journey through frontline policing, criminal investigation, intelligence operations, international peacekeeping and senior command responsibilities.  Since joining the Nigeria Police Force as a C...

By: Awajis Josiah-Chijindu As the sixth Conference and Retreat for Senior Police Officers (CARSPO 2026) comes to an end today 23rd of September, in Owerri Imo State, the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu, has charged senior officers to translate the knowledge and resolutions from the three-day retreat into practical action across Commands and Formations. IGP Disu stressed that the true measure of the conference would be the changes recorded across the Force after participants return to their respective Commands. The IGP directed participating officers to adopt a train-the-trainers approach by cascading lessons from the conference to Deputy Commissioners of Police, Area Commanders, Divisional Police Officers, tactical commanders and other personnel under their supervision.  A statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, said ahead of the 2027 General Elections, the Inspector General of Police  urged Commands to strengthen operational planning...

  Residents of Rivers State have been assured that all those involved in the killing of a young lady in Ahoada West Local Government Area will be brought to justice. The chairman of Ahoada West Local Government Area, Mr. Eugene Epelle, gave the assurance while leading his team, alongside security operatives, to Ogoda Community, where the body of the unnamed victim was recovered from a stream. Speaking after the recovery of the body, the Chairman, condemned the killing and confirmed that two suspects are currently in police custody in connection with the incident. "It was just yesterday. We were informed that there was a deceased person in the forest of Ogoda community, in Ahoada West Local Government Area. Without wasting time, we swung into action — the DPO, the JTF commander, all the security officers in Ahoada West, and my team," Epelle said. "We mobilised and were able to arrest two young men who are being investigated, based on information linking them to the death ...

 By:  Lanre Olagunju  There is something curious about the Nigerian relationship with the police. We complain about them. We criticise them. We film them. We sometimes mock them. But when the armed robbers arrive, we call the police. When kidnappers invade a community, we call the police.  When violence breaks out at night, when a missing child needs to be found or when an armed criminal is on the loose, the same institution many Nigerians love to hate suddenly becomes the institution we expect to save us. But what do we owe those we ask to protect us? Nigeria has lost police officers repeatedly this year while they were doing the job we expect them to do. Since March, publicly reported incidents alone show at least 21 police officers killed in eight separate operational incidents that I could verify.  Two officers were killed at a border checkpoint in Kebbi in March. Four died while repelling a terrorist attack in Borno in April. Three Explosive Ordnance Dispos...

  By: Awajis Josiah-Chijindu  A mother and her Four children were burnt to death in a fire incident that engulfed their house in Okochiri community, Okirika Local Government Area of Rivers State in the early hours of today Friday, September 18, 2026. We gathered that the fire was put out through the efforts of community youths. According to sources,the fire was caused by petrol which was ignited by a spark. Confirming the incident in a telephone interview with our correspondent, the Commander of the Civilian Joint Task Force in Okirika, Mr. Igwe Godswill, said the details of the incident were still sketchy. He said, “We just heard the news this morning about the fire. There are no proper details as to what happened, but when we got there this morning, we saw that about four children and their mother, a total of five persons, were burnt and had died. “But the police had already arrived and taken proper details of what happened. It is so disheartening that this is happening agai...

  By NDUKA V. A. ANYANWU MEDIA CAMPAIGN TEAM The 2027 General Election is fast approaching, and the people of Ahiazu Mbaise and Ezinihitte Mbaise Federal Constituency are once again faced with an important decision concerning who will represent them in the Green Chamber of the National Assembly. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has released its candidate information for the 2027 Presidential and National Assembly elections, including the House of Representatives contest for Ahiazu Mbaise/Ezinihitte Federal Constituency. According to the campaign's presentation of the list, seventeen (17) candidates are contesting the Federal Constituency seat. That is no longer news.  *BUT WHAT REALLY MATTERS?*  It is not simply about the number of candidates. It is about capacity, antecedents, accessibility, vision and the development agenda each candidate brings to the table. The candidates listed by the campaign are: 1. NDUKA VALENTINE, ALOYSIUS ANYANWU — APGA 2. ON...