The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Olatunji Disu, has ordered the nationwide compilation of the nominal rolls for all Inspectors eligible for promotion to the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP). This directive is a significant part of an ongoing effort to promote senior non-commissioned officers within the Nigerian Police Force and marks the commencement of a departmental selection board exercise aimed at advancing officers who have reached the requisite qualifications for elevation.
The official communication regarding this exercise was issued in a police wireless message from the Force Secretary’s office, carrying reference number CB:4001/FS/FHQ/ABJ/V.T2/23. According to the message, which was dated March 13 and obtained by SaharaReporters on Tuesday, the IGP has instructed all commands and formations to forward a comprehensive list of Inspectors who meet the criteria for promotion. Specifically, the directive requests that the list include all Inspectors promoted in 2019 and 2020, as well as those confirmed in the ranks in 2021 and 2022.
The wireless message, marked as “M/IMMEDIATE” and “VERY IMPORTANT,” also emphasised that the lists should be strictly ordered according to seniority. Furthermore, it instructed that the relevant “Inspectorate APER forms” for the years 2023, 2024, and 2025 should be included alongside the nominal rolls. This request aims to ensure that the promotion process is both thorough and transparent, with a clear focus on merit and seniority.
However, the announcement has sparked widespread dissatisfaction and protests among many Inspectors, some of whom have expressed concerns that the promotion timeline is creating what they describe as “demoralising stagnation.” These officers have lamented that, despite serving in the same rank for many years, they are still waiting for advancement. Several Inspectors, who chose to remain anonymous, explained that they have been stuck in the rank of Inspector for as long as eight years. Some officers who were promoted to the rank of Inspector in 2018 indicated that they will only be considered for the rank of ASP in 2026.
In one of the testimonies from an affected officer, they said: “They are requesting the data of Inspectors promoted in 2019 for promotion to the rank of ASP, while those of us promoted to the rank of Inspector in 2018… are pleading with the Force and the Police Service Commission (PSC) to backdate our promotion to 2024.” These officers have argued that their request for backdating is not unprecedented. They pointed to the 2025 promotion exercise, where promotions for certain officers were backdated to 2023, as a precedent that should be applied to their cases as well.
The officers are now calling on the Police Service Commission (PSC) and the IGP to review the current promotion process, which they feel has left them in a prolonged state of stagnation. They are urging the authorities to rectify the eight-year wait for promotion in order to ensure that career progression is aligned with prior administrative actions and decisions.
To facilitate the promotion process, commanders and heads of formations have been instructed to submit the requested data by April 30, 2026. The data should be submitted in both “Excel format, hard and soft copies (flash),” and via a designated email address. The message concluded with a stern warning that the “INGENPOL [is] pressing” for the returns and that the entire exercise must be treated with the highest priority and urgency.