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Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Disu has appointed Deputy Commissioner of Police Anthony Okon Placid as the new Force Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Police Force, replacing Acting Assistant Commissioner of Police Benjamin Hundeyin in the first major communications reshuffle since Disu assumed office as police chief, with the announcement made by Hundeyin himself in a statement issued at Force Headquarters in Abuja on Sunday.
Hundeyin was appointed as FPRO in September 2025 by immediate past Inspector-General Kayode Egbetokun, giving him a tenure of less than six months. No official reason was given for his removal, but it falls within a broader pattern of leadership realignments that have accompanied Disu’s assumption of office, including his inauguration of a state police committee and a reshuffle of senior officers across key commands. It was reported separately that an officer identified only as Giwa has been appointed to head a newly created NPF Media Office — a structural development that, if confirmed, would represent a significant expansion of the force’s communications architecture under the new inspector-general.
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Placid, 55, was born in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, and hails from Mbiokporo Nsit in Nsit Ibom Local Government Area. He was enlisted into the Nigeria Police Force as a Cadet Assistant Superintendent of Police at the Police Academy in Kano in 1996 and commissioned in August 1998, giving him 28 years of service. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Geography and Regional Planning from the University of Uyo, a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the University of Jos, and completed a Bachelor of Laws programme at the National Open University of Nigeria.
His career has spanned both domestic postings and significant international assignments. He served as Police Public Relations Officer in Adamawa State and at the Police Staff College in Jos before deploying internationally as Chief of Training for the African Union Mission in Sudan and Head of Training and Development for the United Nations Mission in Darfur, two of Nigeria’s most demanding peacekeeping commitments on the African continent.
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He later served as Divisional Police Officer across several commands in Calabar, Bakassi, Uruan, and Gembu, and as Officer-in-Charge of the Anti-Robbery Unit in Kaduna State. He completed the Senior Executive Course at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies in Kuru and was inducted as a Member of the National Institute on December 13, 2025 — weeks before his redeployment to Cross River State and his subsequent appointment as FPRO.
Placid holds certifications from the United Nations Peace Operations Specialised Training programme in Police Studies, Military Studies, Gender Awareness, International Humanitarian Law, Human Rights, and Civilian Protection. He completed the UNITAR Senior Leadership and Peacebuilding course in Kenya and is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, a Commonwealth Human Rights Trainer, and an International Committee of the Red Cross trainer on International Humanitarian Law — a profile that reflects the force’s stated intention to professionalise its public communications function under the new IGP
Placid assumes his new role at a period of significant institutional transition for the Nigeria Police Force. Disu, who joined the force in 1992 and bypassed all Deputy Inspector-Generals to reach the top post, is pursuing a reform agenda that includes the state police committee he inaugurated in February, a crackdown on officer indiscipline through the X-Squad and Public Complaint Unit, and the broader restructuring of the force’s command and communications structure.
The FPRO’s office is the public face of that restructuring, managing press relations, public messaging, and the force’s increasingly active social media presence across X, Facebook, and television — a function that acquired particular political sensitivity during the Egbetokun era, when Hundeyin became one of Nigeria’s most publicly visible police spokespeople.
