NIGERIA
NEEDS TO RECRUIT 30,000 POLICE OFFICERS ANNUALLY FOR FIVE YEARS – IGP
The
Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, on Friday said Nigeria needed to
recruit 30,000 police personnel annually for five years to meet UN
recommendation. Mr. Idris made this known in Abuja while dialoguing with civil
society organizations under the umbrella of “Situation Room” as he turned one
year in office.
He said that when
compared to other countries with over one million police personnel, Nigeria was
under-policed because it had not attained the UN ratio of
one-policeman-to-four-citizens. “One of the challenges facing the police force
is that of personnel. We are just about 380,000 personnel. Even though we are
the largest in Africa, we are not enough.
“If we are to
follow the UN ratio of 1:4 of police-to-citizens of the country, the Nigeria
police force would be put at almost 700, 000; so, we are still operating below
the UN ratio. “Last year, we recruited 10,000 police officers, but it is not
enough.
“So, in my own
calculations, we are to recruit at least 30,000 police officers annually in the
next five years before we can get close to 700,000. “These are areas we want
addressed by the present government and definitely we will get there so that we
can recruit 30,000 Nigerians every year into the police force,” he said.
Mr. Idris
explained that the deficit in the number of policemen in the country arose
between 2010 and 2016 when there was no recruitment of rank and file officers. He
said that the force was working on addressing the gaps to ensure that it could
secure the nation effectively.
The police boss
added that a major challenge of the force was funding, saying that the police
could do better with proper funding, “not the envelope budget it currently
gets’’.
He said that the
situation informed the desire of the force to seek an Act to establish the
Nigeria Police Reform Trust Fund to provide for the training and retraining of
personnel. He said that the fund would also equip the police, improve their
welfare, among others, adding that there would be public hearing on the Bill on
July 11.
Idris reiterated
commitment of the police to curbing crimes, especially during elections. He
said that some police officers and Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC) staff had been arrested over allegations of electoral malpractice,
adding that some had been taken to court. He said that the suspects arrested in
connection with the death of two policemen during the repeat elections in
Rivers in 2016, were also undergoing prosecution.
Mr. Idris pointed
out that prosecuting them was to “make a point that things should not be
allowed to go as usual and to serve as a deterrent to others that election is
not do-or-die affair’’. “Henceforth, every election would be done in accordance
with the rules and the force would ensure proper policing of elections, and
ensure that all participants obey and operate within the law.”
Clement Nwankwo, Executive
Director, Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre and the convener of the Situation
Room, said the event was organized to dialogue with the IGP on his one year in
office. Mr. Nwankwo said that there was need for collaboration between civil
society organizations and the police so that the citizens would understand
their activities.
He said that
there were many issues that citizens demanded answers to and that dialogues as
was held between the CSOs and the police provided platform for responses to the
questions. Nwankwo urged the police to address issues of kidnapping, herdsmen
attacks of farming communities and agitations in the country “by dealing with
the issues appropriately.
