Assistant Inspector-General of Police, AIG Okunade Ronke Nurat, has emerged the first Nigerian senior police officer to win the prestigious ‘North America Legendary Africa Supercop of the Year Award’ in Texas, United States.
The award was presented to her last Wednesday, at the Maritime Police Command, Nigeria Police Force Headquarters Annex, Lagos, by the Board of Directors of Naija Standard Newspaper Inc USA, who travelled from Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas for the ceremony, a statement said.
AIG Okunade, the 24th AIG and head of the Maritime Police Command, emerged winner after a keen contest involving senior law enforcement officers from Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, Zambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, South Africa, Rwanda and Angola.
According to the organisers, the selection was based on empirical data analytics, media surveys and vox-pop exercises conducted among Africans at home and in the Diaspora. At the end of the voting, AIG Okunade polled 95,255,690 votes to clinch the honour. Angola’s Comissário-Chefe Orlando Paulo Jorge Bernardo came second, while South Africa’s Lieutenant General Tebello Mosikili emerged third.
The award recognises her outstanding contributions to policing, marine reform, transformative technology and proactive security operations on Nigerian waterways.
Following he win, AIG Okunade has also been inducted into the North American Golden Law Enforcement Elite Hall of Fame Roll Call and the Texas Golden Hall of Fame Media VIP, Class of 2025.
Receiving the award, AIG Okunade dedicated the honour to God Almighty, her team at the Maritime Police Command, her husband, and the entire African community.
“I dedicate this award to God Almighty, my hardworking team at work, my husband and the entire African community for looking out for me, my professionalism and daily determination in celebrating the best of Nigeria policing,” she said.
Describing the recognition as a major international honour for Nigeria’s policing community, the organisers said it places the country’s maritime security efforts and technology-driven policing on the global stage.
AIG Okunade started her policing career in 1992 as a Cadet Assistant Superintendent of Police. A native of Ogbomosho North Local Government Area of Oyo State, she holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from the University of Ibadan.
Her career has spanned the Force Provost Office, Railway and Airport Commands, the Force Criminal Investigation Department Annex Alagbon, and the Police Special Fraud Unit where she served as the 31st Commissioner of Police.
She also made history as the first female Commandant of the Police College, Kaduna, and the first AIG to head the institution. She is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, IACP.
The Executive Editor and Group Managing Director of Naija Standard Newspaper Inc USA, Dr. George Elijah Otumu, said the decision to present the award in Nigeria followed demands from millions of Nigerians and Africans in the Diaspora that “Charity Begins at Home.”
The ceremony was attended by senior officers of the Maritime Police Command and other dignitaries.
