The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, has ordered a nationwide crackdown on the use of WhatsApp and other social media platforms by police personnel for official communication following concerns about the leakage of sensitive information.
The directive was issued through a police wireless message from the Force Headquarters in Abuja and sent to commands and departments across the country.
According to the message obtained by SaharaReporters, state police commands and various formations have been instructed to urgently review and sanitise all official WhatsApp groups and other digital communication platforms used by officers.
The leadership of the Nigeria Police Force expressed concern over the growing use of unofficial messaging platforms, warning that poor oversight had led to repeated breaches of the force’s information security protocols.
The signal, sent to Assistant Inspectors-General of Police, Commissioners of Police, and other senior officers nationwide, highlighted the abuse of WhatsApp groups within the police system, which has resulted in the unauthorised disclosure of sensitive information.
As part of the directive, all police commands have been ordered to immediately remove retired, transferred, dismissed, or deceased officers from departmental WhatsApp groups and other social media communication platforms.
The police hierarchy also instructed that such platforms should be deactivated once their operational purpose has been completed.
Additionally, commands were directed to regularly vet members of approved digital communication platforms while maintaining strict monitoring and control of the content shared on them to prevent further security breaches.
