Prominent pro-democracy and civil rights advocacy group HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has asked the Inspector General of Police Mr. Tunji Disu to withdraw his illegal and unconstitutional shoot-on-sight-order which
he reportedly gave to armed police operatives against non-state actors allegedly carrying ‘unlicensed’ weapons.
HURIWA recalled that the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, had issued a sweeping shoot-on-sight directive to police officers nationwide, ordering them to neutralise anyone found in possession of illegal firearms as part of a renewed federal push to curb insecurity.
Disu announced the directive on Friday during a high-level stakeholders’ security meeting at the Government House in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.
He said the order was in direct response to President Bola Tinubu’s instruction that the wave of killings and armed attacks in Benue “must be brought to an end.”
“You cannot move around freely carrying arms as if there is no law and order in this country. It will not be tolerated,” Disu said.
He stated: “The era of passive policing is over. We must be proactive to protect lives and property.”
He said that officers have now been fully activated under Force Order 237, the police regulation governing the use of force, which allows them to respond decisively to imminent threats without waiting for approval from superiors.
HURIWA recalled that the Force Order 237 cited by the IGP as backing his shoot-on-sight-order stated that police personnel confronting armed suspects are empowered to use lethal force where there is reasonable belief of danger to officers or civilians.
“We have given them instructions. We have a Force Order 237. Police officers have been instructed that they don’t need to wait for any superior order. They know where to deploy their firearms,” Disu explained.
“We are tired of losing our men. We are tired of police officers, soldiers, and other members of the security agencies dying anyhow.
They have been instructed to shoot at sight. They have been trained to do what is necessary.”
Reacting to this sweeping order by the police chief of Nigeria, civil society organisation, the HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) said the IGP has no power under the law to order his operatives to SHOOT-ON-SIGHT citizens perceived to be carrying weapons because that would directly violate section 33(1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended which is supreme and superior to any lesser statute such as the Force order 237 which the Inspector General of Police grounded his shoot-on-sight-order upon.
HURIWA quoted section 33(1) which says thus: “Every person has a right to life, and no one SHALL BE DEPRIVED INTENTIONALLY OF HIS LIFE, save in execution of the sentence of a court of competent jurisdiction in respect of a criminal offence of which he has been found guilty in Nigeria.”
The Rights group asserted that the reckless issuance of a shoot-on-sight-order by the police head of Nigeria would result in extrajudicial killings of Nigerians given the fact that a greater percentage of operatives of the Nigeria Police Force that bear arms have been accused of lacking professionalism and are grossly indisciplined and therefore can misinterprete the publicised illegal shoot-on-sight-order to shoot on sight anyone bearing weapons even before ascertaining whether the bearer has licence or not. The Rightsvgroup said under the law the penalty for possession of unlicensed weapons is not instantaneous execution by shoot-on-sight-order by the Nigeria Police Force acting on a certain shoot-on-sight-order made by the IGP.
The IGP does not have the constitutional competence to act as a judge, a prosecutor and executioner in the cases of persons accused of carrying unlicensed weapons moreover, does the inspector General of Police needs to publicise the fact that police operatives are allowed to use their weapons in the lawful execution of their counterterrorism duties? How does the IGP want the operatives of the police to simply shoot on sight whenever they see someone bearing weapons even if such persons belongs to vigilante or community security already allowed by laws passed by the state houses of Assembly to provide armed security to their communities? This shoot-on-sight-order by the IGP is reckless, unlawful and unconstitutional and must be withdrawn forthwith.
COMRADE EMMANUEL NNADOZIE ONWUBIKO,
NATIONAL COORDINATOR,
HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA). Saturday July 25th 2026.
