The Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, has recounted how a retired soldier demanded that the police kill his university-student son after the young man was arrested for cultism, only to return the following morning with food for him.

Disu said the incident occurred while he was serving as a Divisional Police Officer in Ago Iwoye, Ogun State, and demonstrated the conflicting emotions parents can experience when dealing with their children's misconduct.

The IGP spoke on Thursday at the National Youth Leadership and Security Dialogue organised by the Nigeria Police Force at the Police Resource Centre, Jabi, Abuja. A video clip of his remarks went viral on Saturday.

The three-day event, which ran from Thursday to Saturday, was organised to mark International Youth Day 2026, with discussions focusing on youth leadership, security, responsibility and the need to discourage violence and thuggery.

Recounting the incident, Disu said the retired soldier stormed his office after his son, a university student, was arrested for cultism and demanded that the police kill him.

He said the man asked about his son's whereabouts and, after being informed that he was in detention, expressed satisfaction before making the unusual request.

“And he said, DPO, where is the boy? I said, he’s detained. He said, very good. I want you to help me to kill him.

“Kill him! That was what he said. That you must kill him. He doesn’t want him at home,” Disu recalled.

According to the IGP, the retired soldier remained in his office from morning until almost night, insisting that the police should kill his son.

Disu said he eventually advised the man to return home, assuring him that the police would handle the situation.

However, the following morning, the retired soldier began calling Disu early and eventually arrived with food for his detained son.

“And he left. The following morning, very early in the morning, he started calling me. He has brought food for his son. He brought food for his son,” Disu said.

The IGP said he deliberately delayed receiving the man until the afternoon, after the former soldier became increasingly agitated and repeatedly requested a meeting.

When he eventually met with him, the man explained that he had come to deliver food to his detained son.

Reflecting on the incident, Disu said it illustrated the complexity of parental emotions.

“What if I’ve killed this boy since yesterday? That is a parent for you,” he said.

Disu had previously narrated the same incident in a March 2025 reflection titled The First Lawmakers: My Reflection on Home, Discipline, and Duty, when he was Commissioner of Police in the Federal Capital Territory.

In that account, he said the retired soldier's initial anger eventually gave way to concern for his son's welfare, describing the experience as an example of the complicated nature of parental emotions.

He added that the young man eventually completed his education, got married and became a father himself.