Citizens Hand Reform Charter to Police in Zamfara State
By Uangbaoje Alex, Kaduna
Civil society actors, traditional leaders, women and youth groups have presented a bold Citizens’ Charter of Demands to the Zamfara State Commissioner of Police, pressing for urgent reforms to restore trust, accountability, and professionalism in policing.
The Charter emerged from a two-day Police-Community Engagement Workshop convened by CLEEN Foundation with support from the Open Society Foundation, held February 25–26, 2026 at Ja’iz Hotel in Gusau.
Participants commended ongoing police engagement efforts but were frank about the realities undermining public confidence.
They raised concerns over reports that bail is no longer truly free, weak communication and poor feedback from police authorities, lack of accountability to communities, inadequate protection for whistleblowers, and the unexplained release of suspects apprehended by community security groups.
Stakeholders also pointed to issues of indiscipline among some personnel, weak investigations, corruption, delayed response to distress calls, poor handling of gender-based violence cases, inadequate deployment to insecure areas, and limited public awareness on security matters.
In response, citizens rolled out a 15-point reform agenda calling for improved investigative capacity, stronger compliance with human rights standards, better training for officers on handling gender-based violence, firm disciplinary measures against corrupt personnel, and mechanisms to guarantee that bail remains free.
They also demanded protection for informants, stronger collaboration between police and communities, improved welfare for officers, and more strategic deployment to vulnerable areas.
The Charter further called for the institutionalisation of regular police-community dialogue and expanded public awareness campaigns on safety and peacebuilding.
Stakeholders urged the Commissioner of Police to act swiftly and work collaboratively toward implementation. They also proposed the establishment of a Police-Citizens Action Monitoring Team to track progress.
Reaffirming their commitment, participants pledged continued intelligence sharing and sustained engagement, noting that safer communities in Zamfara will depend on partnership, transparency, and reform-driven policing.
