Nigeria IGP calls for police cooperation at UN summit

Nigeria's Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, has called for stronger international cooperation and equitable access to technology to combat increasingly sophisticated transnational crime, while also expressing confidence in the potential benefits of proposed state-level policing reforms at home. Disu made the remarks while participating in the Fifth United Nations Chiefs of Police Summit (UNCOPS 2026) at the UN Headquarters in New York from July 7 to July 8.

Addressing the global gathering of police leaders, Disu warned that organized criminal networks are exploiting artificial intelligence, encrypted communications, and cyber-enabled platforms to expand their operations across borders with growing sophistication. He stated that this trend poses a serious challenge to traditional policing models and necessitates a unified international response. While acknowledging that technologies like AI, digital forensics, and geospatial intelligence present extraordinary opportunities for law enforcement, Disu emphasized that public trust remains the indispensable foundation of effective policing.

He argued that technological innovation must be guided by principles of transparency,...