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Claim: Several Facebook posts suggest that the Federal Government has removed pockets from Nigerian police uniforms to curb bribery.
Verdict: False. The Nigerian government has not announced or implemented any policy to remove pockets from police uniforms. The claim recycles an old rumour and relies on an unrelated photo.
Full Text
Bribery on Nigerian roads is as routine as the checkpoints themselves. Drivers slip folded notes through car windows while officers wave them on. This long-standing habit of “something for the boys” has made policing reforms a constant public conversation and has fueled all sorts of imaginative suggestions for curbing corruption.
As a supposed fix to the situation, a Facebook user, @Jimo Akeran, claimed that the Federal Government (FG) has decided to remove pockets from police officers’ uniforms.
The post’s text read: “FG to remove pockets from the uniforms of police officers to curb corruption -News.”
As of Sept. 21, 2025, the post had 19 comments, 22 likes, and five shares.
While this post only had a few engagements, we found the claim had been shared by other users on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, with images of a police officer holding up a police uniform as though it was on display. See post samples here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
Meanwhile, we checked the comments to see what users thought about the claim.
@Prince Olakunle wrote, “Hmmm, whether they remove it or not, it’s still the same corruption because these officers have others who accompany them and collect on their behalf.“
@ Biodun Awopetu added, “Socks are an alternative to pockets, joor. It will still be another good bank and alternative.”
@Olasesan Abdulwahee wrote, “No amount of frustration can stop police from corruption.”
@Chasideho Jfr, who thought the claim was false, wrote, “This news has been debunked, you don’t have to bring it up again.”
After Chasideho’s remark, the original poster replied directly and disputed the correction. He wrote that Chasideho only dismissed the rumour because of the “effect of the nearness to the dining desk,” a phrase that implies Chasideho benefits from the police and therefore defends them.
Owing to the nature of the comments and the sensitivity of a claim involving the police, we sought to verify whether it contained any truth.
Verification
DUBAWA began by running a keyword search to find any credible reports that could confirm the update, but no such evidence was found.
We searched the Nigerian Police Force and the Police Service Commission websites and found no statement or directive about pocketless uniforms.
While the photograph used in the other posts is genuine, it is unrelated. We ran multiple reverse-image searches using Google Images and TinEye and traced the picture to Sept. 3, 2024. On that date, Deputy Inspector General Bala Ciroma displayed new kits for supernumerary officers, a separate category of personnel who serve temporarily for private organisations.
We also found that the same story appeared on Nairaland on July 18, 2017, and returned several times afterwards, each time without proof. One claim says the FG, angry about corruption in Nigeria, decided to remove all pockets from police uniforms to stop officers from taking money from road users.
DUBAWA reached out to SP Josephine Adeh, the Public Relations Officer of the FCT Police Command, who confirmed that no such change has been made. She said:
“There has been no directive from the Inspector General or any other official authority about removing pockets from police uniforms. Officers continue to perform their duties as usual, and any claim saying otherwise is not true .”
Advising social media users on how to handle such claims, she said, “We urge citizens to verify information from official sources before sharing it online. Spreading posts like this will only create confusion and take away trust.”
Conclusion
DUBAWA’s findings confirm that no official statement or credible report supports the claim that the Nigerian government has removed pockets from police uniforms. Therefore, the claim is false.
