By Danjuma Amodu
With 58 days to the World Public Relations Forum, WPRF, Abuja 2026, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, has confirmed his attendance and pledged the full participation of the Nigeria Police Force.
Disu gave the assurance on Tuesday at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, when he received a delegation of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, NIPR, led by its President, Dr. Ike Neliaku.
The week-long global forum is scheduled to hold from November 15 to 21, 2026, in Abuja.
The IGP, who is a full member of the NIPR, said effective policing is anchored on public trust, stressing that strategic communication is indispensable to modern law enforcement.
He noted that collaboration between the police and the NIPR would serve the national interest and help reshape public perception of the Force.
“The police and NIPR share the core task of building trust. Without trust, policing fails and without credibility, public relations is just noise,” Disu said.
“In spite of hard work by officers and men, the image of the Force is not where we want it at the moment. We will need your support to help Nigerians understand that the police is their friend.”
Earlier, Dr. Neliaku said the forum presents a unique opportunity for the Nigeria Police Force to deepen its capacity in global policing standards.
He listed strategic communication, intelligence gathering, public affairs, security communication and reputation management as key value areas for the Force, and urged broad participation from state commands and the FCT.
The NIPR President also formally invited the IGP to speak at one of the sessions and called on the police to serve as strategic partners for the successful hosting of the forum.
The WPRF Abuja 2026 is expected to attract public relations professionals, policymakers, security experts and communicators from across the world to deliberate on trust, governance and global communication challenges.
On the NIPR President’s entourage were the Secretary-General of the African Public Relations Association, Dr. Omoniyi Ibietan; Chairman of the WPRF National Planning Committee, Dr. Suleiman Haruna; Vice Chairman of the Committee, Hajiya Maryam Sanusi; Chairman of the Linguistics and Language Work Team, Mrs. Olubunmi Badejo; Registrar of the NIPR, Chief Uzoma Onyegbadue; Director of Public Relations, Mr. Stanley Ogadigo; and the FCT Commandant of the NSCDC, Olusola Odumosu.
Also on the delegation were a Member of the NRMG Board, Chief Moji Makanjuola; Chairman of the NIPR Young Professionals Hub, Chimdi Neliaku; Chairman of the WPRF Transportation Work Team, Dr. Eddy Megwa; and Chairman of the WPRF Creatives and Multimedia Work Team, Dr. Tope Ojeme.
