Assistant Inspector-General of Police Tunji Disu has recounted an encounter with a retired soldier who, despite being the father of a university student arrested for cultism, initially demanded that police officers kill his son.
Disu, who is now an Assistant Inspector-General of Police, shared the experience while reflecting on the importance of parental guidance, discipline and responsibility in raising children.
According to Disu, the incident occurred when he was serving as a Divisional Police Officer in Ago Iwoye, Ogun State.
He said the retired soldier stormed into his office after his son was arrested over alleged involvement in cultism and demanded that the police kill him.
“A retired soldier once came into my office in Ago Iwoye, demanding we kill his son, a university student arrested for cultism,” Disu said in a reflection published on his social media account.
Disu described the father’s initial reaction as one of intense anger, saying the man’s “rage was volcanic.”
However, the officer said the father’s attitude changed dramatically the following day when he returned to the police station carrying food and asked about his son’s welfare.
“When I joked, ‘So you don’t want us to kill him again?’ His eyes betrayed a truth every parent knows: anger is often the flipside of helpless love,” Disu recalled.
The story, according to Disu, illustrates the conflicting emotions parents can experience when their children become involved in criminal activities or make choices that could jeopardise their future.
Disu used the incident to emphasise the importance of parental involvement in the upbringing of children, noting that the foundation for law and order begins within the home.
In his reflection, titled The First Lawmakers: My Reflection on Home, Discipline, and Duty, he argued that parents have a critical role in teaching children acceptable behaviour and guiding them away from destructive influences.
“Law and order do not begin at the police station or the courthouse; they begin at home,” Disu wrote.
He said inadequate parental guidance could have consequences that extend beyond individual families and eventually affect society.
The former FCT Commissioner of Police has previously spoken about youth crime, parental responsibility and the need for stronger family structures as part of efforts to prevent young people from becoming involved in criminal activities.
Disu’s account has since drawn attention to the emotional challenges faced by parents when confronted with misconduct by their children, while also highlighting the importance of addressing such problems through guidance, intervention and lawful processes rather than violence.
The incident he recounted dates back to his time as a police officer in Ogun State and was not presented as a recent arrest or ongoing case.
