President Bola Tinubu has approved the establishment of a new campus of the Nigeria Police Academy in Erinja, Yewa South Local Government Area of Ogun State, along with a take-off grant of N15 billion to support its development.
The approval is part of ongoing efforts by the Federal Government to expand police training capacity and improve internal security across the country. The new campus will be the first satellite branch of the academy outside its main base in Kano State.
According to a statement issued on Monday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the decision is in line with the provisions of the Nigeria Police Academy (Establishment) Act, 2021, which allows the institution to operate multiple campuses across Nigeria.
The statement explained that the N15 billion intervention fund will be sourced from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) 2026 allocation. The money will be used for key infrastructure such as academic buildings, student hostels, training facilities, and other essential installations required for the new campus to function effectively.
“The intervention fund will be sourced from TETFund’s 2026 allocation and will finance priority infrastructure, academic facilities, student accommodation, and core training assets at the new campus,” the statement said.
The Presidency said the location of the new campus in Erinja was recommended after a high-level consultative meeting involving key stakeholders in the security and education sectors. Those present at the meeting included the Minister of Police Affairs, the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, officials of the Federal Ministry of Education, the Inspector General of Police, and the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission.
The meeting reportedly considered several factors before arriving at the decision. These included student intake capacity, funding availability, academic quality, and the growing need to train more police officers due to ongoing recruitment into the Nigeria Police Force.
Government officials said the expansion is part of broader reforms aimed at strengthening policing standards in Nigeria, improving professionalism, and enhancing national security.
President Tinubu was quoted as saying the expansion of the academy would help “strengthen institutional governance, modern policing education and national security.”
The Nigeria Police Academy, which is currently located in Wudil, Kano State, has for many years served as the country’s main institution for training police officers. It functions as both a degree-awarding university and a professional police training center.
The idea of expanding the academy is not new. In June 2025, the House of Representatives called for the decentralization of the institution. Lawmakers urged the President and the Academy’s Governing Council to fully implement the 2021 Act by establishing campuses across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
They argued that expanding the academy would improve access to police education, reduce pressure on the main campus, and ensure more balanced national representation in police training.
The Nigeria Police Academy itself has undergone several changes over the years. It began in 1988, operating from temporary sites at the Police Training School in Challawa, Kano, and the Police College in Kaduna. It was later merged and moved to its permanent location in Wudil in 1996.
In 2012, it was upgraded by the National Universities Commission (NUC) into a degree-awarding institution, making it Nigeria’s 37th federal university. Since then, it has expanded its academic offerings to include undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in law enforcement and related fields.
Courses currently offered at the academy include law, sciences, social sciences, management sciences, and humanities. The institution also provides specialised training in policing skills, intelligence gathering, crime investigation, and security management.
With the new campus in Ogun State, the Federal Government is expected to increase admission capacity and improve training conditions for cadets and officers.
The decision to site the new campus in Ogun State is also seen as part of efforts to spread federal institutions more evenly across the country. Ogun, located in the South-West region, already hosts several educational and industrial facilities, and the new academy campus is expected to boost its profile further.
Local leaders in Yewa South have welcomed the development, describing it as a major opportunity for job creation, infrastructure growth, and economic activity in the area. Construction work on the campus is expected to begin once funding arrangements are finalised.
The Federal Government says the project will be closely monitored to ensure transparency and proper use of funds. The involvement of TETFund is also expected to provide additional oversight and technical support.
As Nigeria continues to face security challenges, the expansion of training institutions like the Nigeria Police Academy is seen as part of a long-term strategy to strengthen law enforcement capacity.
With the approval of the Ogun campus and the N15 billion take-off grant, the government is taking a significant step toward decentralising police education and improving training standards across the country.