The Inspector General of Police, Mr Mohammed Adamu, on Thursday expressed the Federal Government’s commitment to equipping the Nigeria Police and its men to ensure that no officer died fighting criminals.
Adamu, who said stakeholders in the South-West had spoken in the same vein not to allow crime escalate in the region, said the governors had “shown their commitment towards supporting the police and other security agencies in terms of providing logistics to enhance their mobility.”
The IG, who spoke in Ado Ekiti during a security stakeholders’ meeting, added that the fact that Nigerians were being attacked in South Africa should not be a reason for anybody to attack the businesses of South Africans in Nigeria.
“Those who did that are unpatriotic. They are criminals and that was why we arrested some of them and we will prosecute them,” Adamu said.
He said, “The Federal Government has invested a lot of money in securing fleet of vehicles to deploy them on the highways, the nooks and crannies of the country, especially in the South-West to enhance the security of the region.
“The vehicles are there and they will soon be deployed. The vehicles are not just patrol vehicles, they are fitted with state of the art technology that can help the officers manning them to make sure that the highways and the adjoining roads are properly managed to checkmate the criminals.
“No officer should die in the course of fighting criminals. For that reason, the government has decided to provide all of us with body armour and other necessary equipment that will help us protect ourselves while pursuing the criminals,” Adamu said.
The IG said the country’s policing system had been redesigned to be community-based so that all Nigerians could see security as their responsibilities.
He said, “Our strategy for policing has changed. The community is now working with us and we are going to ensure that all the communities are represented whether you are traditional rulers or you belong to any socio cultural group.
“We are going to train people from each community who will have the power of the police to arrest. They will be deployed to help the police in fighting crimes. When it comes to recruitment, we will come to your communities,” he said.
Ekiti State Police Commissioner, Asuquo Amba, said the police had been able to reduce crimes in Ekiti due to hardwork displayed by his men, adding that his command had maintained robust and smooth collaborations with other sister agencies to maintain security of lives and property.
The Chairman, Ekiti State Council of Traditional Rulers and the Alawe of Ilawe Ekiti, Oba Adebanji Alabi, who praised the IG’s posture towards elimination of crime and insecurity, also lauded the welfare policy for the police as reeled out by Adamu on the occasion.