IGP Olatunji Disu Orders Specialized Units to Target Financial Networks Behind Bandits and Oil Thieves

In a major tactical pivot aimed at choking off the lifeblood of organized crime, Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Disu has ordered police formations nationwide to route all cases involving terrorism, banditry, and crude oil theft to specialized investigative units equipped to track illicit financial flows.

The directive was announced at the Force Headquarters in Abuja during a high-level strategic working session with the Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Hafsat Bakari.

Security experts have long noted that violent syndicates and oil bunkerers rely heavily on complex money-laundering channels to fund their operations, purchase illegal weapons, and protect their criminal enterprises. Under the new directive, investigators are mandated to aggressively trace the financial transactions fueling these networks rather than relying solely on conventional field operations.

The police chief emphasized that tracking illicit money trails remains one of the most powerful tools in modern law enforcement, estimating that cutting off financial lifelines can solve at least half of all complex criminal investigations.

“Following the money is no longer optional; it is the core of dismantling modern criminal enterprises,” emphasized Inspector-General Olatunji Disu. “By leveraging financial intelligence and working hand-in-hand with specialized partners, our units will cut off the oxygen supply to terrorists, bandits, and economic saboteurs who think they can hide behind complex financial fronts.”

The strategic directive is expected to ramp up pressure on criminal syndicates across regions, ensuring that financial sponsors and beneficiaries face direct asset seizures and prosecution alongside frontline operatives.