{"id":24698,"date":"2025-09-24T16:30:18","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T15:30:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/?p=24698"},"modified":"2025-09-24T16:30:22","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T15:30:22","slug":"contrary-to-popular-claim-nigeria-police-not-removing-pockets-from-officers-uniform","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/contrary-to-popular-claim-nigeria-police-not-removing-pockets-from-officers-uniform\/","title":{"rendered":"Contrary to popular claim, Nigeria Police not removing pockets from officers\u2019 uniform"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Claim: <\/strong>Several Facebook posts suggest <\/a>that the Federal Government has removed pockets from Nigerian police uniforms to curb bribery.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Verdict: <\/strong>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full Text<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Bribery on Nigerian roads is as routine as the checkpoints<\/a> themselves. Drivers slip folded notes through car windows while officers wave them on. This long-standing habit of \u201csomething for the boys\u201d has made policing reforms a constant public conversation and has fueled all sorts of imaginative suggestions for curbing corruption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a supposed fix to the situation, a Facebook user, @Jimo Akeran<\/a>, claimed<\/a> that the Federal Government (FG) has decided to remove pockets from police officers’ uniforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The post\u2019s text read: \u201cFG to remove pockets from the uniforms of police officers to curb corruption -News.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of Sept. 21, 2025, the post had 19 comments, 22 likes, and five shares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/a>, here<\/a>, here,<\/a> here<\/a>, here<\/a>,  here<\/a>, here<\/a>, here<\/a>, here<\/a>, here<\/a>, here<\/a>, here<\/a>, and here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, we checked the comments to see what users thought about the claim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

@Prince Olakunle<\/a> wrote, \u201cHmmm, whether they remove it or not, it\u2019s still the same corruption because these officers have others who accompany them and collect on their behalf.\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 @ Biodun Awopetu<\/a> added, \u201cSocks are an alternative to pockets, joor. It will still be another good bank and alternative.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

@Olasesan Abdulwahee<\/a> wrote, \u201cNo amount of frustration can stop police from corruption.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 @Chasideho Jfr,<\/a> who thought the claim was false, wrote, \u201cThis news has been debunked, you don\u2019t have to bring it up again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After Chasideho\u2019s remark, the original poster replied directly and disputed the correction. He wrote that Chasideho only dismissed the rumour because of the \u201c<\/em>effect of the nearness to the dining desk,\u201d<\/em> a phrase that implies Chasideho benefits from the police and therefore defends them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Verification<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

DUBAWA began by running a keyword search to find any credible reports that could confirm the update, but no such evidence was found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We searched the Nigerian Police Force<\/a> and the Police Service Commission<\/a> websites and found no statement or directive about pocketless uniforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the photograph used in the other posts is genuine, it is unrelated. We ran multiple reverse-image searches using Google Images and TinEye<\/a> and traced the picture to Sept. 3, 2024. On that date, Deputy Inspector General Bala Ciroma displayed new kits for supernumerary<\/a> officers, a separate category of personnel who serve temporarily for private organisations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also found that the same story appeared<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere 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 .\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advising social media users on how to handle such claims, she said, \u201cWe urge citizens to verify information from official sources before sharing it online. Spreading posts like this will only create confusion and take away trust.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

DUBAWA\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 \u201csomething for the boys\u201d 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\u2019s text read: \u201cFG to remove pockets from the uniforms of police officers to curb corruption -News.\u201d 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, \u201cHmmm, whether they remove it or not, it\u2019s still the same corruption because these officers have others who accompany them and collect on their behalf.\u201c  @ Biodun Awopetu added, \u201cSocks are an alternative to pockets, joor. It will still be another good bank and alternative.\u201d @Olasesan Abdulwahee wrote, \u201cNo amount of frustration can stop police from corruption.\u201d  @Chasideho Jfr, who thought the claim was false, wrote, \u201cThis news has been debunked, you don\u2019t have to bring it up again.\u201d After Chasideho\u2019s remark, the original poster replied directly and disputed the correction. He wrote that Chasideho only dismissed the rumour because of the \u201ceffect of the nearness to the dining desk,\u201d 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: \u201cThere 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 .\u201d Advising social media users on how to handle such claims, she said, \u201cWe urge citizens to verify information from official sources before sharing it online. Spreading posts like this will only create confusion and take away trust.\u201d Conclusion DUBAWA\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24699,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"hannibal_claim_source":"","hannibal_source_label":"","hannibal_card_color":"blue","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"default","_twitter_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type":"default","_pinterest_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"default","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_bluesky_share_type":"","_mastodon_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[1571,4,3812,3815,119],"tags":[],"verdict":[],"ppma_author":[4069],"class_list":["post-24698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fact-check","category-featured","category-headline","category-homepage","category-security"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8R6dE-6qm","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"authors":[{"term_id":4069,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"rejoice-taddy","display_name":"Rejoice Taddy","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&r=g","author_category":"","user_url":"","last_name":"","first_name":"","job_title":"","description":""}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Screenshot-2025-09-24-at-4.28.11-PM.png?fit=608%2C419&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24698","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24698"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24698\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24700,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24698\/revisions\/24700"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24699"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24698"},{"taxonomy":"verdict","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/verdict?post=24698"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=24698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}