The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) website — the central hub for public communication and official updates — has gone dark, with users now being warned of major security risks when attempting to access it.
On Sunday, a user trying to access the official police website was greeted with a red security alert:
“Your connection is not private.”
This warning signals that the site is unsafe for users, putting their data and devices at risk.
The issue? The site’s SSL certificate — the digital security lock that ensures safe browsing — expired on Thursday, according to data from SSL Checker.
Without a valid SSL certificate, websites are not only inaccessible to most users but also vulnerable to cyberattacks, data leaks, and phishing attempts.
Impact Beyond the Main Site
The Nigeria Police is a unitary structure, with all state commands and divisions centrally coordinated by the Inspector General of Police in Abuja. That structure appears to extend to its online presence.
All state command websites — such as those of Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) — operate as subdomains of the main police site. As a result, the expired SSL certificate on the central domain has rendered all associated command websites offline or insecure.
FIJ confirmed this when attempts to access the Lagos and FCT police web pages returned the message:
“This site can’t be reached.”
A Pattern of Neglect
This isn’t the first time the Nigeria Police has failed to maintain its online platforms:
July 19, 2024: FIJ reported the police website as unsafe. The issue was resolved only after media exposure.
April 2024: The cybercrime reporting platform of the NPF also experienced security flaws.
September 2024: Contact information for all state Public Relations Officers vanished from the site, violating NITDA guidelines for public information access.
Why This Matters
In a time when digital policing and cybercrime reporting are becoming essential tools for safety and accountability, the unavailability and insecurity of the police’s official websites raise serious concerns.
Not only does this block public access to critical information, but it also invites cybercriminals to exploit the gap. Visitors, including journalists, citizens, and foreign entities, could unknowingly expose sensitive data while trying to reach law enforcement online.
Conclusion
With cybercrime on the rise and Nigeria’s digital ecosystem expanding rapidly, a broken or unsafe police website isn’t just an IT problem — it’s a national security risk.
Urgent action is needed from the Nigeria Police Force and the relevant government IT authorities to audit, secure, and maintain all official websites to meet global cybersecurity standards.
