The Nigeria Police Force has intensified efforts to make internal accountability more responsive and transparent through a strengthened Complaint Response Unit (CRU) – the Force’s primary digital platform for receiving, tracking, and resolving citizens’ grievances.
CSP Anietie Okokon Edem, the newly appointed Force Public Relations Officer, highlighted the CRU during a courtesy visit to the NUJ FCT Council on Friday. He called for deeper media collaboration to boost public awareness and improve the reporting of police reforms.
Describing the visit as part of a familiarisation tour, CSP Edem noted that the CRU remains the Force’s foremost internal accountability mechanism. Operating 24/7, the unit handles allegations of professional misconduct, extortion, harassment, and human rights abuses by police officers nationwide.
He explained that recent upgrades to the unit are designed to shorten response times, improve case tracking, and ensure greater transparency in outcomes, steps driven by the Inspector-General’s commitment to genuine reform.
The Force PRO also announced plans for a media parley with Zone 7 to broaden police–media engagement at the zonal level, inviting journalists to participate to ensure accurate reporting on ongoing reforms.
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“Journalists are part of the police family,” CSP Edem said, stressing that informed reporting helps the public hold institutions to account while supporting constructive reform.
The NUJ FCT leadership, led by Council Chairperson Comrade Grace Ike, welcomed the CRU enhancements and reaffirmed the council’s readiness to collaborate. Comrade Ike praised CSP Edem’s approachability and pledged that journalists would amplify citizens’ complaints and highlight CRU developments to ensure public scrutiny and follow-up.
The strengthened CRU offers Nigeria’s media an opportunity to exercise its watchdog role effectively. By publicising how complaints are lodged, tracked, and resolved, journalists can bridge the gap between citizens and institutional accountability, keeping the pressure on both the police and policymakers to deliver tangible results.
