From Molly Kilete, Abuja
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba, yesterday, charged top echelon of the Force to stem the tide of secessionism, banditry, kidnapping, armed robbery and other violent crimes and restore the country to the path of peace, unity and national security in the shortest possible time.
He also told the officers, including commissioners of police and above, to find a lasting solution to coordinated, premeditated violent attacks targeted at personnel and assets of the Police Force, military and other security agencies in the SouthEast region.
Alkali also ordered the closure of IGP Monitoring Unit offices in Lagos and Port Harcourt, and banned operatives of the unit from undertaking criminal investigations, including taking over cases from State Commands.
The meeting, which was the first to be held by the IGP since he assumed office, also aimed at addressing the increasing threats to security in the country by terrorist groups, bandits, kidnappers, armed robbery syndicates and arms traffickers, among other criminal activities.
Declaring the meeting, which took place at the Peace Keeping Wing behind the Force Headquarters, open, Alkali said “This Conference was convened to achieve a number of critical objectives. First is to enable me to interact with you as officers of the Force across the country, whose shoulders the strategic leadership of the force rests. Second is to act as a veritable forum for the definition of my Mission Statement and Organisational Vision. Third is to assess current internal security situations across the country, review our strategies and emplace sets of strategic actions that could aid us in our statutory mandate of restoring order and public confidence, granted the current national security realities.
Lamenting over the insecurity in the county, the IGP, said: “The recent pattern and trend of crime, which clearly indicates an increasing threat to internal security by terror elements, bandits, kidnappers, armed robbery syndicates and arms traffickers, constitute major challenges to our nation and to the Nigeria Police. This trend is being compounded by a growing separatist agenda, which has assumed an armed dimension in which personnel and assets of the Nigeria Police Force, Military and other security agencies are being constantly targeted in clearly well-coordinated, premeditated violent attacks in the South East Geopolitical Zone.