The Federal Government has announced plans to begin the recruitment of about 10,000 officers and men for the Nigeria Police Force to enhance its workforce.
President Muhammadu Buhari made this assertion in Abuja, while declaring open a one-day National Security Summit.
He noted that unemployment, illiteracy, radicalization, negative peer group influence, substance abuse and erosion of family and moral values are social factors that underlie criminal tendencies, stating that more workforce for the police would boost the efficiency of the Police.
“The Federal Government is planning to employ at least an extra 10,000 police officers and establish a properly trained and equipped Federal Anti-Terrorism Multi-Agency Task Force that will effectively address the challenge of future insurgency in a sustainable manner.
“In the meantime, efforts are being made to enhance the operational capacity of officers of the Nigeria Police through a tailor-made training programme that will give them the right civil orientation in their roles as guardians of the constitution.
“In order to further strengthen the security of the public space, consideration is being given to the expansion of the CCTV Monitoring System across major cities and towns in the country, while the police accountability mechanism will be strengthened”, the President said.
He described the event as part of his effort to redefine the security architecture of the country.
While noting that the summit would help to galvanize community support and citizens’ consent for intelligence-led policing, Buhari promised that before the end of his four-year term, he would have developed a good security system for the country.
According to him, the need for community input to policing and crime management in Nigeria has become very imperative, adding that he would soon unveil many youth empowerment programmes in order to reduce their attraction to crime.
“In appreciation of the strategic role of the citizens and the community in modern policing, this administration will encourage States to look at State-level Community inter-acting with police under a model that will integrate members of the community to policing functions at the grassroots level”, he asserted.
President Buhari also commended the Inspector General of Police, IGP Solomon Arase for ordering the dismantling of police roadblocks, which he said had often been an object of discord between citizens and the police.
“The initiatives of the Inspector-General of Police to also introduce the ‘Safer Highway Motorised Patrol’ Scheme and deploy 555 Patrol Vehicles along all major highways to fill the void created by the enforcement of the order dismantling road blocks is also acknowledged as a proactive action meant to reassure citizens of their safety and security.
“In addition, I also note the commitment of the Force leadership to uphold and enforce Chapter IV of the constitution and commit officers of the Force to the adherence to all United Nations and African Union Charters and other regional global instruments on Human Rights while also introducing Alternative Dispute Resolution procedures to policing functions.
Furthermore it is the policy thrust of the Inspector-General of Police which discourages pre-trial detention of citizens while encouraging the practice of intelligence-led crime detection.
“These initiatives, if properly implemented, will undoubtedly address those factors that threaten public confidence in the Police and hence, create good grounds for the practice of community-led policing to flourish”, he added.
In his keynote address, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III lamented that the last few years have been very bloody as people were killed with impunity.
While urging that active cooperation of Nigerians should take the place of indifference and non-challance, he charged the president to continue with his war on corruption without faltering.
He advised President Buhari to endeavour to ascertain the wealth of his aides before appointing them into offices.
The Sultan added that the president should confiscate the wealth of any of his subordinates anytime it is established that their wealth has surpassed their legitimate earnings.
He said aside seizing the entire asset of all those found guilty of corruption, they must be made to face punitive jail sentences no matter their position in the country.
He also urged the President to “institute a national integrity plan for this country as soon as feasible”.
This, he said, would help in reforming Nigeria and making it take its pride of place in the comity of nations.
On his part, IGP Arase expressed strong optimism of a brighter policing for Nigeria.
He however advocated the speedy passage of the Police Trustfund Bill which has been pending before the national assembly since 2012.
According to him, the bill when passed would address the funding gaps in the force, which more often have led to corruption and eroded professionalism.