RismadarVoice Reporters
August 10, 2026
Wilfred Afolabi has assumed duty as the 35th Commissioner of Police in Abia State, the state police command has announced.
Mr Afolabi succeeds Danladi Isa, who was recently promoted to the rank of Assistant Inspector-General of Police and redeployed to the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) Annex in Kaduna.
In a statement on Monday, the command’s spokesperson, Maureen Chinaka, described the new commissioner as a seasoned police officer with more than three decades of service in the Nigeria Police Force.
Mr Afolabi joined the police as a Cadet Assistant Superintendent of Police on 18 May 1992.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in Botany from the University of Ilorin and postgraduate qualifications in Peace and Security Studies from the University of Port Harcourt.
The new commissioner has also undergone several professional and strategic training programmes, including the Strategic Leadership and Command Course at the National Institute of Police Studies, Abuja; Tactical Leadership Command Course at the Police Staff College, Jos; and Internal Security/Low Intensity Conflict Course at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji.
According to the statement, Mr Afolabi has international policing experience, having served with the African Union Mission in Sudan between 2004 and 2005 and the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 2001 and 2002.
During his service in Sudan, he was the pioneer Sector Commander of Sector 2, Nyala, and Regional Commander of Southern Darfur. He was involved in establishing police stations in internally displaced persons’ camps and coordinating civil police operations.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, he served as Nigeria’s Contingent Commander and Special Response Unit Officer under the UN mission’s Human Rights Section, where he contributed to police reforms, system analysis and training.
Before his posting to Abia, Mr Afolabi served as Commissioner of Police in charge of Administration, Training and Development at the Force Headquarters, Abuja.
He had also served as Commissioner of Police in Ondo State, where the command said he strengthened intelligence gathering, improved investigative operations and promoted community policing.
His previous appointments also include Force Equitation Officer, Mounted Troop, at the Force Headquarters, as well as Deputy Commissioner of Police positions in Delta, Katsina and Bayelsa states.
As a Deputy Commissioner, he served as DC Administration in Delta State, DC Criminal Investigation Department in Katsina and DC Operations in Bayelsa.
He has also held operational and training positions in Anambra, Imo and Abuja, and served as a Directing Staff at the Police Staff College, Jos.
The Abia police command said Mr Afolabi’s experience includes participation in Joint Task Force operations, riot control and other specialised police operations.
The command urged residents, community leaders and other stakeholders to cooperate with the new commissioner as he begins his tenure. It said such cooperation would be critical to the commissioner’s efforts to improve public safety and security across the state.
