With the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) family still mourning the death of ten elite police officers whose blood stained the remote wilderness of Kebbi State, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Olatunji Rilwan Disu, has drawn a hard line in the sand, vowing that there is hiding place for criminal elements in the country.
Standing before rows of weeping families and saluting ranks at a memorial parade held at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, in honour of the fallen officers on Monday, August 24, 2026, the nation’s top cop delivered the fierce pledge that the Force will never surrender but take to the fight against banditry and other violent crimes to the next level.
The IGP, who lamented that the 10 officers of the Special Intervention Squad paid the supreme price while confronting a heavily armed group of suspected bandits along the Rafin Makuku axis of Sakaba Local Government Area of Kebbi State on August 10, said the criminal underworld must be crushed to ensure the safety and security of all citizens.
He said it is unfortunate that after the police personnel intercepted the suspected bandits who were moving between Zamfara and Kebbi states, a fierce exchange of gunfire that left 10 officers dead and two others injured while two civilians also lost their lives in the encounter.
Describing the deceased officers as gallant personnel who died while discharging their constitutional and professional responsibility to protect lives and property, the IGP said their sacrifice was not in vain, noting that at least 17 suspected bandits were neutralised while four motorcycles belonging to the attackers were destroyed.
“We shall not be intimidated, we shall not relent, and we shall not allow the sacrifices of our fallen heroes to be in vain,” he said, while expressing condolences to the families of the deceased officers with the assurance that the Force would continue to support them and ensure that the sacrifices of their loved ones were not forgotten.
Disu, who assured the bereaved families that, “We grieve with you, we stand with you, and we will not abandon you”, urged Nigerians to remember the fallen officers and the thousands of other police personnel who continue to risk their lives in the line of duty.
Also emphasizing that the security enjoyed by citizens often comes at a heavy personal cost to security personnel, the nation’s Police boss assured Nigerians that the Force would continue to work with the Armed Forces, sister security agencies, state governments and local communities to battle banditry, terrorism and other forms of violent criminality nationwide.
With a promise that the Police Force would intensify efforts at hunting down those responsible for attacks on police personnel and innocent citizens, and bring them to justice, IGP Disu said: “We will continue to pursue these criminal elements, disrupt their activities and bring those responsible for attacks on our personnel and innocent citizens to justice.”
The IGP, while praying for the repose of the souls of the deceased officers and for strength for their families to bear the loss, tasked Police personnel to draw renewed determination from the sacrifice of their fallen colleagues, just as he urged Nigerians to honour their memories by supporting efforts to build a safer and more peaceful country.
Recalled that the tragic incident occurred on August 10 along the perilous Rafin Makuku axis in Sakaba Local Government Area, when the Special Intervention Squad (SIS) walked into a brutal ambush while hunting down ruthless outlaws terrorizing local communities. Unfortunately outnumbered and outgunned, the operatives fought with extreme valour, but ultimately paid the supreme price in defending innocent citizens from relentless violence by the criminal elements.
