The Inspector General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba, has urged Police Managers in the country to brace up to anticipated security challenges in the upcoming year.
IGP Baba made the call today, 13 December, 2021, during the End Of Year Conference of Strategic Police Managers, held at the Force Headquarters in Abuja.
TheFact Nigeria reports that the Conference, an annual event, is held primarily to evaluate the activities of the Force within the outgoing year, identify gaps that have mitigated optimal service delivery to citizens, as well as advance pathways to bridging those gaps to achieve enhanced professional and operational capacity in anticipation of the upcoming year.
The Police Chief averred that it was imperative for Police Managers to note that the year 2022 would be even more challenging, considering that it is a year preceding the general elections in the country, hence, the anticipation that the political landscape would be charged in a manner that would further test the competence of the Force personnel, both professionally and operationally.
The implication of this, Baba said, was that personnel would be dealing with professional crimes, even as “our capacity as the lead agency in internal security management will no doubt be stretched to cover the management threats that will be associated with an active political space in 2022”.
The IGP, who reminded Police Managers of the tenets of his policing vision which is built on the virtues of professionalism and respect for the rule of law and citizens’ rights, further called for not only the provision of strategic leadership sensitive to the issues of human rights violation and unjustifiable use of authority, but also for strengthened supervisory actions to ensure that personnel under their various commands do not conduct themselves in a manner that is inimical to bridging the trust gap between the public and the police.
Earlier, recalling the challenges of the outgoing year, the IGP noted that internal security threats emanated mainly from the activities of bandits, secessionist elements, kidnapping syndicates and other highly organised criminals. He added that the challenges were mostly compounded by the weakened operational base of the Force following massive destruction of police assets, in the wake of the #EndSars violence of 2020, which also witnessed unfortunate deaths and injuries to police officers who attended the violent protests.
IGP Baba expressed delight at the resilience of the police commanders, and the commendable level of courage, initiative and sound operational capacity and loyalty which they displayed, despite these realities, not only to the Force leadership, ”but to our dear country, all in an attempt to ensure stability within the internal security space. This s the Spirit that we set out to advance in the policing agenda which I laid out following my assumption of duty as Inspector General of Police, and I am delighted that you have keyed into this new policing mission”.
The Police Boss said that as a result of these, there were concerted efforts of police operatives to stabilize the internal security order, particularly in the South East region where the country had to grapple with secessionist campaigns by members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB and Eastern Security Network, ESN. The efforts included the undertaking of several high-profile special operations leading to the prevention of several crimes and the neutralization of numerous criminal activities.
“We have also deepened our capacity to deploy intelligence to support police investigative and operational activities. This has aided us in preventing the perfection of some major crimes and the arrest of high-profile criminals”, the IGP said.
Recounting major successes of the Force during the year, IGP Baba disclosed that they worked closely with the Police Trust Fund, PTF, towards procuring critical assets to enhance operational capacity. He elatedly noted that the PTF and the Ministry of Police Affairs had already begun acquiring and delivering new fleet of purpose-built operational vehicles to the Nigeria Police, which he said, would soon be launched and deployed to all Commands and Formations, as well as the Special Operational and Tactical Units across the country.
He further disclosed that the Nigeria Police have a model police station template designed to modernize police stations across the country, with a view to advancing “our vision to modernize policing in the country”. He added the construction of these model police stations, while it had commenced in some parts of the Federation, will soon be replicated in a phased impeimentation process across the country.
Other major strides of the Force, he continued, include the successful galvanization of international support, which culminated in the election of AIG Garba Baba Umar as the Vice President (Africa) of the INTERPOL during the recently concluded 89th session of the INTERPOL General Assembly held in Istanbul, Turkey.
Another success was the securing of the approval of the International Association of Chiefs Of Police, IACP, for the appointment of a Nigeria Police officer as the Nigerian Desk Officer of the International Association for the purpose of coordinating all activities of the Body in Nigeria. “This followed a strong case which I advanced in that direction during the International Police Summit in South Korea”, the IGP disclosed.
IGP Baba concluded his remarks by reassuring all citizens of the unwavering determination of the Nigeria Police to ensure peaceful Christmas and New Year festivities, emphasizing, however, that this cannot be achieved alone.
“It is only by working in partnership that we can defeat the criminals who are our common enemies that are bent on altering our values for communal peace and security”, he said.
He therefore solicited the understanding and continued support of all Nigerians, particularly in the area of volunteering critical pieces of criminal information which are vital to the mission of securing the public space in the most proactive manner at this time of the year and beyond.
He prayed that the New Year brings peace and security to our beloved nation, and that all personnel of the NPF and thier families continue to enjoy God’s favour as “we rededicate ourselves to the service of our fatherland”.
