National Security & Intelligence
FG restates commitment to Police reforms
Aug 10, 2010, 15:31
| | The Federal Government is committed to reforming the Police so the Force can play an effective role in securing lives and properties, building a democratic society.
President Goodluck Jonathan, who was represented by Vice President Namadi Sambo, gave the assurance while declaring open a one-day retreat for officials of the Ministry of Police Affairs and Police High Command on “Enduring Democratic Policing in Nigeria,” in Abuja, on Monday, August 9.
Noting that new forms of crimes were evolving with frightening speed due to advancement in technology, the President called on the Police to change their operational strategy to reflect modern trends and also embrace modern scientific policing to complement their already commendable policing initiative.
He regretted that the exploitation of this development by criminals to perpetrate crime coupled with many years of underfunding had left the country with a police force that could not perform its constitutional role effectively, hence the nation had been bedevilled by problems of insecurity and violent crimes such as kidnapping, armed robbery and pipeline vandalism.
While observing that the image of the police had suffered so much damage due to poor human rights records and other sundry reasons, the President directed the Nigeria Police to stop forthwith actions like mass raiding of civilians and arbitrary arrest and detention beyond constitutionally defined limits so as to sustain the gains of democracy and ensure effective policing of the country.
He noted that community policing was a global practice in line with democratic norms, and as a stakeholder in the international system, Nigeria Police must not lag behind.
He maintained that in an attempt to reverse this trend and give Nigerians a sense of security, the present administration initiated the police reform programme which is the biggest security sector reform in the history of Nigeria.
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