The committee of retired Inspectors-General of Police has decried the continued erosion of the primacy of the role of the police in internal security management, such that other organisations that ought to be invited to only aid are taking lead positions in guaranteeing internal security in Nigeria.
The committee, led by retired Inspector-General of Police Aliyu Attah, expressed this concern on Tuesday at a retreat for Inspectors-General of Police (IGPs) held at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan.
Attah argued that the consequences of the creation of other security agencies to perform primary police roles were a deepened inter-agency turf war due to overlapping responsibilities and duties and inadequate funding of the police force.
The retired IGPs noted that the performance of the police seemed to betray the expectations of the people because of the consequences of the balkanization of the police profession.
They, however, stressed that the police must earn public trust and remain focused, innovative, and proactive to be unshakeable in their position of primacy in internal security management.
Attah said: “There is no doubt also that internal security management in Nigeria by the Nigeria Police Force has been fraught with challenges and issues, and the consequential effects have been the continuous decline in the belief of the people in the ability of the police to guarantee the adequacy of internal security in Nigeria.
“The seemingly ever-stretching parallel lines between the performance of the NPF and the expectations of the people are further compounded by the creation of other security agencies, which on the one hand negatively affect the adequate funding of the NPF and, on the other hand, deepen inter-agency turf wars due to over-lapping responsibilities and duties.
“It is no news that the Nigeria Police’s primacy in internal security management has eroded, as other organisations that ordinarily ought to be invited to aid in the maintenance of internal security are now taking the lead positions in issues of internal security in Nigeria.”
To have a firm grip on its primacy role in internal security management, the retired IGPs said the police must recapture the trust of Nigerians by remaining focused, innovative, and proactive.
Furthermore, they identified as imperative the need to champion ethical conduct, professionalism and accountability, excellence in service, and building an incorruptible police force.
Noting that the security challenges facing Nigeria had become increasingly complex, Attah said the committee of retired IGPs had resolved to collaborate with the acting IGP, Kayode Egbetokun, to enable him to have a better understanding of the issues militating against the optimal functionality of the police.
Attah added: “The changing security needs and safety aspirations of our citizenry, therefore, we demand that the Nigeria Police Force, as the agency statutorily entrusted with the primacy of internal security management, remain focused, innovative, and proactive in our pursuit of a secure and prosperous Nigeria.
“Our providential attainment of the enviable position of IGP in the NPF and now as retired IGPs affords us a unique moral authority and integrity that can serve as a guiding light for our police officers and the police institution.
“Let us, therefore, strengthen our unity and champion ethical conduct, professionalism, and accountability within the police force by demanding excellence in service and an incorruptible police force.
“Through this, we can help in restoring public confidence in the Force and inspiring the change we seek.
“We must recognise that public trust is the bedrock upon which effective policing stands, and we must help the police recapture and restore the trust of the Nigerian people.
“Our collective reputation, built over decades of service, can play a pivotal role in reinforcing the principles of integrity and respect within the police force.”
Led by Attah, other retired IGPs present at the retreat were Sunday Ehindero, Mike Okiro, Ogbonna Onovo, Hafiz Ringim, Ibrahim Idris, and Solomon Arase.
The present acting IGP, Kayode Egbetokun, who also attended the event, described the retired IGPs as custodians of institutional memories that would help in his mission to emplace a professionally driven and rule of law-compliant police force.
Acknowledging that the police faced a shortage of manpower, Egbetokun said he had taken steps to increase yearly recruitment into the police.
He added that a Special Intervention Squad, in the mould of the Police Mobile Force (PMF), is to be set up with specially trained officers that are easy to deploy to crisis areas within the shortest notice.
Egbetokun said, “We have taken steps to address the problem of a shortage of manpower in the police.
We are getting good support from the federal government to make sure we increase our yearly recruitment.
“We are also proposing to set up a Special Intervention Squad. The whole idea is to restore the Police Mobile Force (PMF) to its original concept.
We are proposing that we mobilise already trained officers, retrain them, and kit them specially.
“They won’t be deployed as an escort as it is today, but they will be specially trained, kitted, remunerated, and housed in pilot states across the country, ready for deployment at the shortest notice to a crisis zone.”
A resource person at the event, Fimihan Adeoye, stressed the need for divisional police headquarters across states to be well-funded and equipped to handle security threats in their domains.
Noting that the people were continuously losing confidence in the police, Adeoye said the police must strive to project itself as the lead agency for internal security.
In his own presentation, Secretary of the Association of Retired Police Officers of Nigeria (ARPON), Sunday Chukwurah, called for the harmonisation of salaries among security agencies, decrying that the police earned less than some other security agencies.
He called for more funding for ARPON so as to take care of eventualities that affect police officers and their families both in and out of service.
The event saw presentations from resource persons from the University of Ibadan, including Professor Olawale Albert, Dr Adio Moses-Ruth, and Dr Nathaniel Danjibo.
After leaving IITA, the train of the acting IGP paid a courtesy call to the Oyo governor’s office in Ibadan, where it was received by the deputy governor, Mr Bayo Lawal.
Speaking, Lawal called for increased recruitment into the police, noting that the force was already overstretched.
Lawal also asked the police to increase their policing of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway and address issues of illegal mining and kidnapping in the state.
The deputy governor also demanded the siting of at least one more Police Mobile Force (PMF) squadron in the state while assuring continued support for the police by the state government.
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