As Nigeria moves towards the 2027 electoral cycle, Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Rilwan Disu has urged young Nigerians to resist political violence, reject digital manipulation and refuse to become tools in the hands of political actors.
Disu made the appeal at the National Youth Leadership and Security Dialogue organised by the Nigeria Police Force to mark International Youth Day 2026, held under the theme “Different Contexts, Common Aspirations” and the campaign “My Future Is Greater Than Political and Digital Thuggery.”
With political activity expected to intensify ahead of the elections, the Inspector-General placed a particular responsibility on young people, urging them not to be recruited into violence, carry weapons for political interests, spread misinformation or participate in hate-driven digital intimidation.
He also called on youths to engage in Nigeria’s democratic process peacefully and lawfully, stressing that the consequences of political violence often remain with those who are used to perpetrate it long after political opponents have settled their differences.
For Disu, the alternative is not passive citizenship but purposeful participation. He urged young Nigerians to direct their energy towards education, entrepreneurship, technology, creativity, innovation and community service rather than criminality and destruction.
His message was ultimately about legacy: what a generation chooses to do with its influence, its’ numbers and its’ moment in history.
The IGP also stressed that national security cannot be the exclusive responsibility of the Police. Young Nigerians, he said, have a role to play in preventing violence, combating cybercrime, protecting vulnerable people, promoting responsible digital citizenship and strengthening peaceful democratic participation.
The broader appeal is simple but consequential; young Nigerians should refuse the transactional politics that turns youthful frustration into violence and instead become stakeholders in the country they will inherit.
With the 2027 elections approaching, the Police leadership is positioning youth responsibility as an important front in the campaign for peaceful democratic participation.
