We‘II abide by FG’s decision on state policing — Police

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has declared that it will abide by the federal government’s decision to create state policing to address the country’s security challenges.

There have been discussions among stakeholders in recent times on the need for President Bola Tinubu to commence the process that will bring about state policing to tackle rising kidnappings, killings, and other heinous crimes in society.

Speaking with newsmen in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti state capital, on Monday during his visit to officers and men of the state police command, including stakeholders, the Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of the Force Criminal Investigation Department, Abiodun Alabi, explained that the force won’t hold a separate position on the issue contrary to public insinuations.

The DIG, who also supervises the South West region, added that the police are committed to carrying out their mandate of securing the lives and property of citizens with effective collaboration with critical stakeholders.

He urged officers and men of the command to be above board in discharging their duties in accordance with the rules guiding their operations, adding that reports of human rights abuse by officers would not be tolerated.

Alabi noted that in a bid to receive firsthand information on the situation from the commands, the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, mandated his DIGs to visit various states to ensure effective policing operations in the country.

Commending the commissioner of police, Kunle Akinwale, and the officers for their efforts at maintaining peace in the state, he urged them to sustain the tempo towards having a crime-free society.

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According to him, “The position of the force is that we are going to align with the federal government’s position on the issue of state policing; we don’t have any choice.

“The Nigeria Police Force is a federal government security agency, and whatever position the federal government takes is what we will work with.

It is not about my position or the IGP’s own; it is what the government puts in place, and we will key into such a vision.

“My mission is in compliance with the directive of the Inspector General of Police, who directed all DIGs in charge of the six geopolitical zones to embark on tours across the six geopolitical zones to assess the strategic deployment of our arsenals in crime fighting and see how our officers are doing their jobs, interface with them, and enable us to know the challenges they are facing in the course of their duty so that they can be addressed appropriately; so that their capacity and flexibility will be enhanced in delivering good services to the public.”

On the challenges of a shortage of manpower raised by stakeholders in the meeting, the DIG said that the government has promised to fix the gap with the constant recruitment of people into the force.

“With the regular recruitment as we have it now, we will soon overcome the manpower challenges within the force, not only in Ekiti but across the country,” he said.

In his remarks, CP Akinwale lauded the visit of the DIG to the state, adding that it would further bolster the morale of the men of the command in remaining committed to the responsibility of securing the people.