The Nigeria Police Force has refuted claims that it forced all of its officers to pay N2,000 for the “Attitudinal Change Handbook for the Nigeria Police Force.”
According to an online source, police officials ordered all staff members to pay the full cost of the book, allegedly making the purchase mandatory with a Thursday deadline.
But according to a document seen by Chronicle NG on Monday, the Department of Training and Development, Force Headquarters, Abuja, sent the permission in a letter dated May 28, 2025, introducing the author, Dr. Joseph Danley.
On behalf of the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, the Commissioner of Police (Training), Rashid Afegbua, signed a letter authorizing the author to market the guidebook directly to interested personnel who would like to buy it willingly.
“I am directed to introduce Dr. Joseph Danley, author of the handbook “Attitudinal Change for Nigeria Police Force,”” and convey the approval of the Inspector-General of Police to enable him to directly market the handbook to interested police officers who may wish to voluntarily procure the same.” The circular partly read
Benjamin Hundeyin, the Force Public Relations Officer, rejected the allegation as false when contacted.
He stated that the manual purchase was completely voluntary.
He said, “The correspondence emanated from the Force Headquarters to the commissioners of police, telling them that the book should be sold to interested police officers and that it should be voluntary.
“I have conducted my findings, and no command has forced the book on any officer. I don’t know where that report came from. Maybe one officer somewhere made it compulsory, and that should be reported to us, not to the media.
“The real power to discipline such an officer lies with the Police Service Commission. So, anyone who has such information should bring it forward,” he added.
Danley, the book’s author, clarified the initiative’s history by stating that the publishing was a component of an endeavor to raise police ethics and professionalism.
He claimed that although he had originally suggested charging N25,000 for the training, Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun decided to make it free.
He said, “We sent a proposal to the Inspector-General of Police to embark on the reorientation of the mindset of an average police officer. Initially, we charged N25,000 per participant, but the IG was magnanimous to say there’s no money for that. So, he only approved the sale and stated that it should be sold to officers willing to buy, while the seminar remains free of charge.”
“I have flown to some states to deliver the book, and those who wanted to buy did, while I picked up the remaining. So, I don’t know why there are claims that my book is being forced on the officers,” he said.
The development coincides with a number of allegations that police officers were coerced into making specific payments against their will.
