Nigeria has 1 police officer to 400 citizens, reflecting high rates of crime

The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, emphasized the pressing need for each of the 1,537 divisional police headquarters in Nigeria to have a minimum of four patrol vehicles.

During his appearance before the House of Representatives, he highlighted the challenges faced by the Nigeria Police Force, including insufficient funding and manpower.

Mr. Egbetokun acknowledged the difficult operating environment in which the police find themselves.

He stressed that the current manpower in the force is grossly inadequate, a fact even recognized by criminals.

While the United Nations recommends a ratio of 1 police officer to 400 citizens, this ratio is not achievable in Nigeria, where the ratio stands at 1 officer to 1,000 citizens. To bridge this gap, the police force would need to double its manpower.

With 1,537 police divisional headquarters spread across 774 local government areas, acquiring operational vehicles for each division proves to be a challenging task. As of now, there are divisions that do not have any patrol vehicles at all.

To meet the requirement of four functional patrol vehicles for each division, the police force would need to acquire approximately 6,148 vehicles.