The Inspector-General of Police Tunji Disu has narrated how a retired soldier asked that the police kill his university-student son after he was jailed for cultism, only to return the next morning with food for him.
Disu stated that the episode, which occurred while he was a Divisional Police Officer in Ago Iwoye, Ogun State, demonstrated a parent’s conflicted feelings and the need for families to take responsibility for their children’s development and discipline.
The IGP addressed the Nigeria Police Force’s National Youth Leadership and Security Dialog, held at the Police Resource Center in Jabi, Abuja. A video of Disu speaking has gone viral since Saturday.
The three-day dialog, held from Thursday to Saturday to mark the National Youth Leadership and Security Dialogue 2026, focused on young leadership, security, responsibility, and the need to deter violence and thuggery.
Disu narrated the incident, stating that the former soldier rushed his office after his son, a university student, was arrested for cultism and ordered that the police shoot him.
He claimed that the man inquired about his son’s whereabouts and, when informed that he was held, replied that it was fine before making the unexpected demand.
“And he said, DPO, where is the boy? I said, he’s detained. He said, very good. I want you to help me to kill him.
“Kill him! That was what he said. That you must kill him. He doesn’t want him at home,” he said.
According to the IGP, the guy stayed in his office from dawn to virtually night, insisting that the police execute his son.
He stated he eventually urged the former soldier to return home, telling him the police would assist him in dealing with the son.
“And he left. The following morning, very early in the morning, he started calling me. He has brought food for his son. He brought food for his son,” Disu said.
The IGP stated that he intentionally delayed responding to the man until the afternoon, after the former soldier became angry and repeatedly called to request a meeting.
He finally let him into his office, where he explained that he had brought food for his incarcerated son.
Recounting his reaction, Disu stated, “What if I’ve killed this boy since yesterday? That is a parent for you.”
The IGP previously recounted the incident in a March 2025 reflection titled The First Lawmakers: My Reflection on Home, Discipline, and Duty, while he was Commissioner of Police in the Federal Capital Territory.
In that narrative, he described how the former soldier’s wrath gave way to concern for his son’s well-being, using the episode as an illustration of the complexities of parental emotions.
He stated that the young man eventually finished his education, married, and became a father himself.
