The Nigeria Police Force Complaint Response Unit (NPF-CRU) and the Eagle Crime Awareness and Prevention Initiative (ECAPI) on Saturday took their joint anniversary celebration to the streets of Lagos with a grassroots sensitisation campaign against police misconduct. The road walk, which marked ECAPI’s 10th anniversary and the CRU’s 11th anniversary, covered Igando, Ikotun and Isheri-Olofin in the Egbe-Idimu area. Starting from the ECAPI office, the rally featured roadshows, market outreach, distribution of information materials and live demonstrations of the CRU’s complaint-reporting platforms, urging residents to report misconduct promptly instead of attacking officers or suffering in silence.
The campaign aligns with the reform agenda of the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu, who has restated the Force’s zero tolerance for misconduct, especially demands for bribes disguised as bail fees. Established in 2015, the CRU receives and tracks complaints of alleged extortion, harassment, illegal bail demands and other human rights violations by police personnel. Speaking at the event, ECAPI founder, Ambassador Eniola Samuel Adam, said the partnership had greatly improved public awareness of the CRU and the proper channels for lodging complaints. “The Inspector-General of Police gave us the mandate for advocacy, and we are ready and doing the work. As stated by the Inspector-General of Police, bail is free, and no officer should go foul. The goal is to say no to impunity,” he said.
ECAPI’s Administration Director, Reagan Onuoha, said the joint celebration showed how effective the collaboration has been, noting that many Nigerians previously knew little about the CRU. “It is all about the rights of people being safeguarded and impunity from bad eggs among the police being stopped so that sanity is maintained and everyone can enjoy the work of the police,” he said. Adam urged residents to use official channels rather than confront officers on the road, assuring them that the CRU would resolve complaints promptly and give feedback. Registered in 2016, ECAPI, also known as Crime Stoppers, works with the Police, NDLEA and LASTMA on intelligence gathering, community policing, anti-drug advocacy and traffic law awareness, under the motto: “ECAPI, Blow Your Whistle; See Something, Report it.”
