The National President of the Oodua People’s Congress (Reformed), a breakaway faction of the Frederick Fasheun-led OPC, Chief Dare Adesope, has once again expressed his total support for the formation of community policing in the country. He believes that such devolution of police functions would better guarantee the safety of lives and property, especially at the grassroots.
Adesope conveyed this sentiment in a statement on Tuesday in response to a recent call by the Lagos State governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu. The governor advocated for a yardstick to guide community policing in Lagos State and the country at large during a forum titled “Community Policing: Emphasising, building a safer Nigeria together,” organized by the Ministry of Police Affairs in Lagos. Sanwo-Olu was concerned about defining and achieving effective community policing.
According to Adesope, community policing is not a new concept in the country, and over the years, it has been at the centre of conversations on the best strategy to address various security challenges, such as rising cases of kidnapping, terrorism, armed robbery, ritual killing, and cultism.
The OPC leader explained that community policing would create a stronger collaboration between government law enforcers and grassroots people, leading to effective policing in different domains. He added that local security operatives would be more familiar with the people in their territories and the environment where they operate.
Adesope emphasised that cases of armed robbery, kidnapping, ritual killings, herdsmen attacks, assassinations, terrorism, insurgency, internet fraud, and other challenges currently posing difficulties for the regular police force would be better handled by local police. He argued that much had already been said on the matter, and the government should not wait any longer to implement community policing.
He reiterated that the primary function of the government is to protect the lives and property of the people and ensure they live in harmony and peace. Adesope urged both Yoruba and non-Yoruba indigenes in Lagos and other parts of Yorubaland to avoid inciting provocative statements and instead live peacefully with their host communities. He encouraged everyone, regardless of their background, to be security-conscious and share useful information with security operatives in their localities.
Adesope noted the observed increase in crimes and criminal activities in Nigeria during festive periods and particularly towards the end of the year. He emphasized that security is everybody’s business.