President Muhammadu Buhari has said that the federal government is mooting the idea of recruiting 10,000 unemployed youths into the Nigeria Police Force to boost the population of the force as well as reduce the scourge of employment.
Buhari made this known yesterday during a national security summit on Community Partnership Approach to Internal Security and Crime Management organised by the Nigeria Police Force in collaboration with the Sun Newspaper.
The president who also revealed that Close Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras would be installed in major cities of the country stressed the importance of collaboration between the police and Nigerian communities towards winning the war against insecurity.
He said: “Effective policing of a society is dependent on the level of security consciousness of the citizens and the strength of the understanding that exists between the policing agencies and the community. This explains why it is generally acknowledged that no police force in the world can successfully operate without the acceptance and support of the various communities.
“The need for community input to policing and crime management in Nigeria has even become more imperative considering our current national security challenges in which kidnapping, armed robbery, murder, transnational crimes, terrorism and other organized crimes have evolved to threaten our national values and overall progress as a nation.
The president who listed some of the social factors that underlie criminal tendencies as unemployment, illiteracy, radicalization, negative peer group influence, substance abuse and erosion of family and moral values, however, noted that the task of addressing these challenges was that of parents, teachers, community and the state.
He continued: “It is in acknowledgement of this that I have identified youth empowerment as one of the cardinal objectives of our administration. In furtherance to this, the federal government is planning to employ at least an extra 100,000 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 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.”
Keynote speaker at the summit and Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Sa’ad Abubakar III, threw his weight behind the federal government’s plan to prosecute the country’s treasury looters, stressing that indicted corrupt officials should be jailed.
The Sultan averred that no country makes progress as long as its leaders continue to plunder its resources and noted that traditional institutions had been at the forefront of discouraging corruption among its subjects.
He said: “We would like to state that our traditional institutions have for centuries played a central role in the maintenance of peace and order and the security management of the various communities.
In order to establish a decent state, corruption must be fought to a standstill.
“We are 100 percent in support of your fight against corruption in this country, and it is our belief that all those found guilty should not only have their entire assets seized or/and forfeited to government but also face jail sentences.”
Apparently referring to prominent individuals that society holds in high esteem for their philanthropic efforts, the Sultan said: “Regardless of how many mosques or churches you have built or the charitable works you have carried out, the community will still wish to know the source of your wealth. The respectability you desire will only be conferred when the legitimacy of these sources is verified and certified.”
He challenged the security agencies to get involved in the anti-corruption campaign and purge themselves of the cankerworm for the war to be won.
“The Nigerian Police and other security agencies must join the crusade against corruption. Regardless of how well trained and equipped, you cannot attain your full potential if corruption and corrupt elements grace the corridors. Those who corrupt our national institutions from the outside must face the same consequences as those who do it from within,” he said.
The Sultan called on President Buhari to institute a national Integrity plan for the country, which he said will refocus the moral, ethical and spiritual energies and the indefatigable spirit of the people into building peaceful, prosperous, and democratic country.
Inspector-General of Police Solomon Arase, in his welcome address, called for adequate funding of the Nigeria Police to ensure operational efficiency, stating that it was only through adequate funding that the huge logistic demand of the police could be met.
