The Integrity Youth Alliance has faulted a recent survey conducted by Chatham House in collaboration with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) under the Social Norms and Accountable Governance Project, which claims that nearly 46 percent of Nigerians “greatly distrust” the Nigeria Police Force, while only seven percent express strong trust in the institution.
In a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Kelvin Adegbenga, the Alliance rejected the validity and credibility of the report, describing it as misleading and damaging to a vital national institution.
“How can a survey purport to capture the voice of over 200 million Nigerians with such sweeping conclusions when its methodology, sampling integrity, and context remain highly questionable?” the statement queried.
The group noted that the Police Force has in recent years recorded verifiable achievements in crime prevention, intelligence-led operations, community policing, and modernization of its operations, stressing that such efforts should not be dismissed with what it termed “a questionable survey.”
It added that public trust in the police cannot be reduced to statistical abstractions, pointing out that the Force has implemented reforms aimed at improving transparency, accountability, and service delivery, with visible results in security operations across the country.
The Integrity Youth Alliance urged Nigerians to treat the survey with skepticism and to resist attempts by what it described as “external or internally motivated interests” to delegitimize security institutions.
It further called on Chatham House and the NBS to publish the methodology and sample representation used in the survey for the sake of transparency.
“The Nigeria Police Force is not perfect, but it is evolving. As patriotic citizens, we must encourage reforms, not discredit them with questionable statistics,” the Alliance stated.
