Police Trust Fund Reforms: Between Hope, Legality and Lessons from the Past, by Okechukwu Nwanguma – THISAGE

When the Council of State met recently under the chairmanship of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, one of the major decisions reached was the approval of sweeping reforms to the Nigerian Police Trust Fund (NPTF), including the repeal and re-enactment of its Constitution Act, the removal of the six-year sunset clause and an increase in the statutory financial allocation from 0.5% to 1% of the bill of the Federation.

The Minister of Police Affairs, Ibrahim Gaidam, announced that these changes were aimed at ensuring sustainable funding and long-term planning for the Nigeria Police Force (NPF). At first glance, these reforms appear visionary: the chronically underfunded and poorly equipped police force certainly needs stable financial mechanisms to function effectively in a democratic society.

But behind the optimism lie serious legal, governance and accountability issues that need to be addressed if reforms are to have a real impact rather than simply exacerbating existing dysfunctions.

A history of legal and structural flaws

Since its establishment by an Act of the National Assembly in 2019, the Nigeria Police Trust Fund has been dogged by controversies, from constitutional disputes to allegations of opaqueness, mismanagement and poor governance.

In 2022, the Federal High Court in Abuja, in the case of Attorney General of Rivers State v. Attorney General of the Federation & Ors, declared the deduction of funds directly from the Federation Account to finance the NPTF to be unconstitutional. The court found that such deductions, as provided for in Section 4(1)(a) and (b) of the Police Trust Fund Act, contravened Section 162(3) of the 1999 Constitution, which limits disbursements from the Federation Account to only the three levels of government: federal, state and local government.

Justice Ahmed Mohammed ruled unequivocally that no federal government agency, including the police, has the right to receive funds directly from the Federation account. The implication was clear: the NPTF funding model, as established, was unconstitutional.

Despite this ruling, deductions continued and the National Assembly continued to appropriate funds for the NPTF based on the same contested provisions. The most recent example occurred in May 2025, when the Senate quietly approved ₦124.4 billion as the Fund’s 2024 budget – the largest in its history – without resolving the legal cloud surrounding its funding source.

This contempt for judicial authority reflects a deeper malaise in governance. When the very institutions responsible for enforcing the law operate outside of it, reform becomes meaningless.

The sunset clause and legal uncertainty

Another critical issue is the duration of the Fund. Section 18(2) of the NPTF Act provides that the Fund “operates for a period of six years from the date of commencement of this Act”, commencing in June 2019. This means that, by law, the term of the Fund ends in June 2025, unless extended by an Act of the National Assembly.

To date, there is no public record of such an extension. Yet the Fund continues to operate, collect revenue and disburse funds – actions that could be legally questionable once the initial deadline expires.

The Council of State’s recommendation to eliminate the sunset clause and make the Fund permanent would resolve this uncertainty. However, this change should not be hastily implemented without first conducting a comprehensive performance review and restructuring of the Fund’s governance.

We must ask ourselves: what has the Police Trust Fund achieved in six years of operation? Has it improved police welfare, training, infrastructure or accountability? And has it produced value for the huge sums allocated to it?

The evidence so far is not encouraging. Reports of poor living conditions in police barracks, inadequate logistics and recurring incidents of extortion and brutality suggest that the Fund’s impact has been marginal at best.

Governance without transparency

The design of the NPTF has always been flawed. The Fund is dominated by the very institution it is supposed to support – the Nigeria Police Force – with little independent or civil society oversight. This provision undermines transparency and raises suspicions of mismanagement.

A trust, by definition, should be managed independently on behalf of the beneficiaries, not by the beneficiaries themselves. The Lagos State Security Trust Fund offers a useful contrast: a model that successfully integrates public and private sector governance and transparent reporting.

By comparison, the NPTF has consistently failed to publish annual financial statements, audit reports, or detailed accounts of its expenditures. Its refusal to engage with civil society or respond to public scrutiny reflects a broader culture of impunity and opacity.

Before any new law is passed to make the Fund permanent, Nigerians deserve to know how the previous one was implemented.

Failure of reform or recycling?

The State Council’s decision to double the Fund’s allocation from 0.5% to 1% of the Federation Account – or 2%, as some reports have suggested – could significantly increase the available resources. But without clear governance and accountability reforms, more money will not translate into better policing. It will only amplify corruption and inefficiency.

The National Assembly must resist the temptation to pass an executive bill that merely legalizes the status quo. The process of repeal and new implementation must be preceded by a performance review, a review of the legal bases of the Fund and the inclusion of independent oversight mechanisms.

Civil society, the private sector and professional bodies should be represented on the new Board of Trustees. Audits and annual reports should be mandatory and publicly accessible. Only a transparent and accountable trust fund can win the trust of the public and businesses.

The bigger picture: sustainable police reform

The Trust Fund was designed as a solution to chronic underfunding, but it cannot replace systemic police reform. Nigeria needs a holistic approach that integrates funding with professionalism, respect for human rights and institutional accountability.

Sustainable reform means linking financial investments to performance benchmarks – in human rights training, internal discipline, community policing and service provision. Money alone cannot change the Nigerian police; will for governance.

Ultimately, the Council of State’s decision to reform the Nigerian Police Trust Fund represents a rare opportunity to restore a failing institution. But this opportunity will be wasted if reform simply means more money for an unaccountable facility.

The National Assembly should seize this moment to legislate a transparent, accountable and lawful police trust fund that reflects both constitutional integrity and democratic values.

For a Fund established to promote law and order, nothing could be more ironic – or more harmful – than operating outside the law.

Okechukwu Nwanguma is the Executive Director of the Rule of Law and Accountability Center (RULAAC).

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