Follow Us on Google
Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
A week after the acting Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, said President Muhammadu Buhari has directed him to immediately commence the implementation of community policing strategy across the country, a committee on strengthening the internal security framework and community policing in Nigeria, has been inaugurated.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, said the 14-member committee, chaired by the Permanent Secretary, Special Services Offices (SSO), Dr. Amina Shamaki, is expected to complete the assignment and submit its report within two months.
The SGF, who inaugurated the committee yesterday recalled that President Buhari had tasked the senior Executive Course 40, 2018 of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Plateau State, to undertake a study of the rising insecurity in Nigeria.
According to him, the theme of the study was ‘strengthening policing in Nigeria: policing options and strategies,’ pointing out that the scope of the study focused on ways of invigorating the internal security system, and it covered the period from 1999 to 2018.
Mustapha said the report noted some factors militating against a comprehensive internal security framework and community policing in Nigeria.
The SGF listed the factors to include poor policy linkages, multiplicity and poor implementation of policies, centralised control of the police force, weak monitoring and evaluation mechanisms.
Others are poor application of technology and innovation, absence of integrated database to aid internal security management, poor budgetary allocation to the security sector, as well as lack of confidence and trust in the country’s security agencies by the Nigerian public.
The committee’s terms of reference are to study and analyse the findings; recommendations and implementation strategies of the Presidential Parley Report by NIPPS and to come up with policy statement for the consideration of Mr. President.
Mustapha noted that in the last one decade or thereabout, there have been strong agitations for government to introduce state police in the country.
He said the topic similarly dominated discussions at the national conference convened in 2014 by the last administration.
According to him, “the agitations have not abated since the coming on board of this administration, and not even the resources deployed into tackling the various hydra-headed security challenges in the country, coupled with the high level of successes recorded by this government so far, has succeeded in dampening the agitations.
