No fewer than 40,000 police personnel were recruited into the Nigeria Police in the last four years in an effort to reposition the force to tackle increasing insecurity in the country.
President Muhammadu Buhari stated this while declaring open a two-day retreat on the theme The New Police Vision – A Road Map for Stabilising Internal Security for Senior Police Officers from the rank of Commissioners of police in Uyo, Akwa Ibom capital on Tuesday.
Buhari, who was represented by the Minister of Police Affairs, Dr Maigari Dingyadi, said the federal government also granted assent to the Nigerian Police Trust Fund.
He said that other efforts aimed at improving service delivery in the force initiated by the federal government included; Task Force on need evaluation of the Nigeria Police headed by Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.
The President added that the FG also assented to the Nigerian Police Regulatory Bill 2020 as part of measures to reposition the police force.
“This administration has prioritised the reform, re-equipment and re-engineering the Nigerian Police being the lead and most critical agency in internal security architecture of our dear country.
“Indeed, since the commencement of the current democracy, democratic journey in 1999, no government has shown so much commitment to the welfare and institutional advancement of the Nigerian Police than the current government of President Muhammadu Buhari.
“This is evidence by the Presidential assent that has been granted to the Nigerian Police Trust Fund Bill and the promptness with which the Board of Trustees was inaugurated.
“Furthermore, the Federal Government also approved the recruitment of 40, 000 police personnel over a period of four years, as a pathway towards addressing huge manpower gap in policing of the nation,” Buhari said.
The President commended the National Assembly and the Nigerian Governors Forum for their support to the Police Force.
He assured that the federal government would continue to accord priority to efforts aimed at re-engineering and re-equipping the force to tackle increasing and complex security challenges of the country.
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Earlier in his welcome remarks, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Usman Alkali Baba, had said the second Conference and Retreat for Senior Police Officers was borne out of leadership focus, which emphasized capacity building as a pathway to re-invigorating strategic leadership capacity towards the enhancement of optimal police service delivery.
Baba said the senior police officers would utilize the forum to review policing vision, mission and strategies as laid out following his appointment as the 21st indigenous Inspector General of Police as well to assess the police reform initiatives of the Federal Government and the Force leadership.
According to him, any organisation without a vision is bound for failure, so the retreat would aligned the officers with the current and evolving policing and internal security realities.
The IGP said the conference would also avail the senior police officers an opportunity to broaden their knowledge on the cutting-edge technology on new policing strategies.
“The Retreat and Conference for strategic police managers was borne out of our leadership focus which emphasizes capacity building as a pathway to re-invigorating our strategic leadership capacity towards the enhancement of optimal police service delivery.
“In cognizance of this reality, upon my assumption of the leadership of the Force, I undertook a comprehensive evaluation of our mandate, pattern and trend of crime, capabilities and gaps, expectations of the citizens and the Federal Government, our potentials, and existing strategies.
“The outcome of this exercise convinced me of the need to commence a Police reform initiative that will be driven by a new policing theme, mission, vision, and strategies.
“To achieve the above Vision, we are focusing on the following Missions; Integration of cutting-edge technology and intelligence-led policing model to our operational and investigation functions with a view to strengthening our capacity to stabilise the internal security order, discourage pre-trial detention, and restore public confidence in the Force,” Baba said.
The IGP said the police would continue to explore all available strategies in guaranteeing security and safety of Nigeria according to the police mandate.
In his remarks, Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi urged the security agencies to go away with rivalry, collaborate and synergize to ensure effective and efficient security architecture.
Fayemi, who is also the Chairman of Governors’ Forum advocated what he described as a multi-level policing to ensure efficiency.
He, however, gave the assurance that the governors were ready at all times to support the police to enable them accomplish the task of securing the country.
“I want to assure you that the Nigerian governors are ready at all times to support you to enable you to accomplish a safe and secure environment for all Nigerians. I believe that we can achieve this with concerted efforts,” Fayemi said.
In his remarks, Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom urged the participants to evolve more proactive ways of addressing the security challenges in the country, especially as the nation’s prepares for the general elections next year.
Emmanuel also urged the participants to look into reasons why more young people in the country are involved in criminality now than before, so as to firmly address the menace in order to save the future generation.
“As we move towards the election year, this Retreat cannot be more timely than now. Therefore, it is my belief that the Conference will bring out proper solutions through ideas generation to addressing the challenges of the time and for better policing of the Country,” Emmanuel said.
He pledged the state government continued support and cooperation to the police and other security agencies in state in view of their salient roles in the states and national security.
