The duty of the Nigerian police is to protect and serve Nigerians. They are also mandated to do this with integrity.  They are the law enforcers in Nigeria and they work hand in hand with all the three arms of the government.

If you desire to go into a career in the Nigeria Police, you may want to know about their ranking.  This will give you an idea of what you are going into and it may help you begin to make plans on how to make it to the topmost level in your career as a Policeman or policewoman.  In this write-up, you will be educated about the various rank at Nigeria Police.  We will start from the highest rank to the lowest.

Ranks in the Nigeria Police

• Inspector General of Police: This is the highest rank in the Nigeria Police. He is the one commanding the Nigeria police. He gives the instructions, directives and orders for others to follow. The Inspector General gets the instructions down to the populace via an organized chain of command.
• Deputy Inspector General of Police: Every other rank that lies below the IG has to take orders from the Deputy Inspector General of Police. His appointment is in line with Section (1) of the Police Act, which has it that he is the second in Command of the Nigeria Police and shall so act for the Inspector General in the event of the latter’s absence.
• Assistant Inspector General of Police: Office of the Assistant Inspector-General of Police is provided for by the sections 5 and 8 of the Police Act. The sections states that the Assistant Inspector General of Police shall act on behalf of the Inspector General of Police in the event of the absence of the IG and the Deputy IG.
• Commission of Police: He is in charge of contingents in a state. His appointment is provided for by the Section 5 of the Police Act. And Section 215; Subsection 2 of the Nigeria Constitution. This maintains that the Commissioner of Police shall be in control of contingents of the Police Force stationed in a state. He is subject however to the command of the Inspector General of Police or whoever acts on his behalf in the event of the latter’s absence.
• Deputy Commissioner Of Police:
• Assistant Commissioner Of Police
• Chief Superintendent Of Police
• Superintendent Of Police
• Deputy Superintendent Of Police
• Assistant Superintendent Of Police
• Cadet Superintendent Of Police
• Inspector
• Sergeant

Mention must also be made of the administrative structure of the Nigeria police. The administrative structure is categorized into seven departments. These are labeled A to G. Each of the departments is given specific duty to perform. There are however instances where their duties tend to overlap.  These seven departments are detailed below.

Also Read: Nigeria Police Salary Structure (New Salary Scale)

A Department

Its duties wound round administration. This department is responsible for the coordination and supervision of all other departments in the Nigeria Police.

B Department   

This department is concerned with operation. They are responsible for organizing and planning all activities related to internal security measures. They are equally involved in monitoring the execution of the security measures across the country.

C Department

This department is concerned with logistics and supply.  They are the ones that supply all the tools required by the Nigerian police for their operations.

Some of these supplies are printing equipment, spare parts, stationeries, medicals, boats, arms & ammunition, riot equipment, force animals, bomb disposal equipment, wireless equipment, helicopters, planes, vehicles and the likes.

The same department is also involved in the determination of cost of equipment. They manage police buildings and quarters too. In addition, they are involved in planning of building programs and supply of uniform

D Department

They are involved in investigation and intelligence. The department is the one that handles all criminal investigations. They are involved in criminal intelligence, prosecution, crime records, forensic matters, narcotics, crime prevention policies, antiquities and Interpol.

E Department

This department is the one involved in training and command.  They are the ones that formulate and implemented all training plans and policies for the Nigeria police.  They provide

They provide well-researched training programmers that ensure the Nigeria Police is up to date with what obtains in modern climes. They are involved in equipment training, field training, and staff development.

F Department

This department is involved in the method and organization aspects of the Nigeria Police. They are responsible for information management and planning. They are basically an Inspectorate Division.

G Department

The ICT department of the Nigeria police has become a very important department in the Nigeria police owning to the fact that ICT now rules the world.

The Nigeria Police now realize that ICT is a potent tool for fighting corruption. This department is saddled with the responsibility of developing and implementing various ICT Policies

Force Secretary

Another important official of the Nigeria Police that is worth mentioning is the Force Secretary.  He too has important duties to fulfill.  This official is responsible for managing appointment and promotion of superior police officers.

Also, he undertakes the task of deploying police officers from one place to another.  Also, the secretary keeps records of superior officers.  The discipline of superior police officers is yet another task assigned to this official.

He calls for and organizes police council meetings. Inter-ministerial matters are also part of his job description. He is a member of the Promotion Board.

The Nigeria Police is distributed across the country. The Inspection General of Police and a number of key officers have their offices at the Force Headquarters, which is now in Abuja.

There are zonal headquarters also in each of the geopolitical zones. Each of the states has a State Command Headquarters.  The Area Command Headquarters answer to the Sate Command Headquarters.

Each Area has a number of Divisional Police Headquarters under it.  The Police Stations in each division answer to the Divisional headquarters.

Police Post is a small unit of Police Station. In order to take security to the rural areas, there are also village police posts in many of the villages across the country.