The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has commenced training for its operatives regarding the newly developed criminal database systems across zonal, divisional, and state levels of the country.
Speaking during the event on Thursday at the Force headquarters in Abuja, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, said, “Without data, there is no memory. Without memory, there is no justice. But with data, there is no hiding place for criminals.”
According to reports, the criminal database system will also connect the nation’s policing structures with international platforms such as INTERPOL, the African Union Border Programme, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in order to ensure that justice will not be evaded by criminals who exploit borders or weak records.
He said, “They will help us track repeat offenders across jurisdictions, detect patterns of crime, and share intelligence seamlessly across divisions, zones, and headquarters. They will strengthen prosecutions, support judges with credible records, and integrate Nigeria into global systems like INTERPOL. In short, these databases will become the nervous system of Nigerian policing in the 21st century.
“You will be the custodians of Nigeria’s crime data. Every case you enter, every record you preserve, every link you verify will strengthen justice in our nation. You are not merely handling files; you are safeguarding the future.”
He further noted that this initiative would sustain the public’s trust in the NPF, adding that, “When citizens know their complaints are properly recorded, when they see follow-through in investigations, their confidence in the police grows. Trust begins with record-keeping.”
The IGP said that this reform was an important part of the Police Reform Agenda, with the aim of ending the use of scattered files and weak records, which allowed offenders to sometimes reoffend undetected.