Emergency calls go unanswered, while Christian communities turn to self-protection
By Mary Kiara
(Lagos) – Nigeria spent nearly $470 million to modernize police communications nationwide. Today, much of that system is abandoned, vandalized, or unusable, a failure measured not only in wasted funds, but in unanswered emergency calls, delayed responses, civilians left exposed during attacks and lives lost.
The National Public Security Communication System (NPSCS) was designed to equip police with secure digital radios, surveillance cameras, emergency call centers, and real-time command coordination across all 36 states. Officials said the system would eliminate chronic response delays and modernize policing.
More than a decade later, police units still rely on personal mobile phones, handwritten logs, and improvised dispatch, even as terrorist groups communicate with encrypted radios and coordinate attacks across state lines.
A Network That Never Took Root
Developed between 2010 and 2015, the system was funded largely through a loan from China’s EXIM Bank. It included radio transmission masts, CCTV cameras, command and control centers, and tracking infrastructure intended to link police nationwide.
Subsequent government reviews and legislative hearings found the network was never fully operational.
Maintenance contracts lapsed, equipment failed, transmission sites were vandalized or stripped. Successive administrations failed to fund upgrades or enforce accountability.
By 2026, many command centers stood empty, CCTV poles went dark and radio towers stopped transmitting.
Former police officers say the collapse is operational, not theoretical.
“When attacks occur, officers cannot communicate beyond their immediate location,” said a retired senior officer who requested anonymity due to security concerns. “That delay can mean the difference between intervention and mass burial.”
Disconnected Police, Expanding Violence
Nigeria faces overlapping threats from jihadist groups and ethnic militias, particularly in rural and Christian-majority areas. Yet emergency response to crime remains slow or absent.
TruthNigeria has documented multiple cases where residents placed emergency calls during active attacks, only for security forces to arrive hours later, or not at all.
In Tsafe County, Zamfara state, Northwestern Nigeria, survivor Joan Emmanuel said security operatives arrived at her village long after the terrorists had withdrawn.
“We kept calling emergency numbers,” she told TruthNigeria. “No one answered. People were already buried before officers arrived.”
Protection Replaced by Self-Defense
Across Northern and Central Nigeria, Christian communities increasingly rely on volunteer guards as their first, and sometimes, only line of defense.
In Ukum County, Benue state, local officials acknowledge communities turned to self-protection after repeated attacks.
“Fulani herders were taking over our lands and destroying crops, and the Federal Government did nothing,” said Theophilus Ayati, an aide to Benue State Governor. “So, communities organized civilian guards to protect themselves.”
A 2025 European Union security assessment found that Nigeria’s police manpower is severely misallocated. Of the approximately 371,000 officers nationwide, more than 100,000 are assigned to protect politicians, business elites, and wealthy individuals.
“In many rural communities, police presence is effectively nonexistent,” the report noted.
Criminal Networks Communicate Better Than the State
Security officials say armed groups now use encrypted radios, satellite phones, and coordinated messaging, allowing them to strike quickly and disperse before police mobilize.
The imbalance has shifted the advantage away from the state.
Retired Army Chief Lt. Gen. Lamidi Adeosun told TruthNigeria that security cannot work without structural changes.
“Where Police officials are absent, terrorists fill the vacuum,” he said.“Nigeria once conducted house-to-house searches for illegal weapons and terrorist elements. Without regular weapons recovery operations, the violence will continue. The police cannot be everywhere.”
U.S. Officials Raise Alarm
The breakdown has drawn international concern.
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Chair Vicky Hartzler has repeatedly criticized Nigeria’s security agencies for failing to act on warnings before mass attacks.
“Villagers call for help before attacks,” Hartzler said in public statements. “During the attacks, calls go unanswered. Afterward, there is no investigation. That pattern is indefensible.”
Acknowledgment Without Repair
Federal authorities have acknowledged the collapse of the security communications system and announced task forces to rehabilitate it. In 2023, officials pledged restoration and private-sector partnerships.
Progress remains minimal.
The Senate has debated reforms including state police, local security committees, proposals that analysts warn could be misused without strong safeguards.
The Cost of Silence
For victims of kidnappings, raids, and terror attacks, the collapse of police communications is not abstract. It is the unanswered call, the delayed patrol and the warning that arrives too late.
The collapse of Nigeria’s $470 million police communication network is not merely a technical failure. It is a governance failure, one that continues to shape daily attacks across the country, emboldening armed groups.
Until communication works, protection remains a promise and for many Nigerians, that promise has already expired.
Mary Kiara reports on conflict and security for TruthNigeria.
