Security sector stakeholders have warned of a growing disconnect between the progressive provisions of Nigeria’s Police Act 2020 and the lived reality of policing on the country’s streets, describing many of the reforms as victories on paper rather than in practice.
The concerns were raised at a town hall meeting organised by Partners West Africa Nigeria (PWAN) in Enugu on Wednesday, alongside further stakeholder engagements held on Friday and Saturday. Legal experts, civil society actors and media practitioners argued that low public awareness and systemic corruption within the police force have blunted the impact of reforms widely celebrated at their passage.
The events also marked the launch of a two-week advocacy project, supported by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), aimed at deepening implementation of the Act across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
PWAN’s executive director, Kemi Okenyodo, said that while the 2020 law introduced landmark changes – including the prohibition of “arrest in lieu” and the formal adoption of community policing – these gains have failed to translate into everyday practice because citizens are largely unaware of their rights.
“Laws can only work when citizens know their rights and demand compliance,” Okenyodo said, speaking through PWAN programme officer Hamidat Oyedele.
That view was echoed by the Enugu branch chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, Vernacius Odo, who offered a blunt assessment of the reform process. He described the Act as “rich in innovation but poorly practised”, questioning whether even 10% of serving police officers were familiar with the law they are expected to enforce.
Odo criticised what he called the “commercialisation” of policing, alleging that some police stations now operate as informal debt-recovery centres or quasi-courts, extracting illegal fees from disputing parties in exchange for intervention.
The discussion also turned to the human cost of reform failures. Okechukwu Nwanguma, executive director of the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), argued that meaningful reform must begin with the welfare and dignity of officers themselves.
“Police officers in Nigeria are themselves victims of systemic neglect,” Nwanguma said, while stressing that poor conditions could not excuse abuse of power.
He pointed to the 2020 #EndSARS protests as a revealing moment, noting that although many police stations were attacked, officers who had built trust through professional conduct were often shielded and assisted by their communities.
As the advocacy campaign moves on to Borno, Lagos, Kano and the federal capital territory, the message from Enugu was stark: without genuine accountability and a serious commitment to police welfare, the Police Act 2020 risks remaining a hollow document, admired for its promise but ignored in practice.
