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From Desmond Mgboh, Kano and Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari has declared that the three priorities of the administration – security, economy and corruption – have received significant attention with measurable results.
Buhari, who stated this, yesterday, at the passing out parade of the Regular Course 4/2016 Cadets of the Nigeria Police Academy, Wudil, in Kano, vowed to deal decisively with those who bear illegal arms and take laws into the hands.
He said Boko Haram insurgency, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Eastern Security Network (ESN) and banditry which pose a threat to the country, had been significantly degraded and relative normalcy returned to most towns and villages. He said more efforts would go into ensuring that normalcy returns to other areas suffering insecurity.
He commended the efforts and resilience of the police and sister agencies for the giant strides recorded so far in the fight against security challenges.
“Across the North Central and North West of the country, we have made progress with regards to stemming the tide of communal violence, farmer-herdsmen clashes, cattle rustling, and kidnapping.We will continue to demonstrate zero tolerance for crime and criminality.
“Those who take laws into their hands, who bear arms illegally and who seek to profit from a climate of fear and insecurity will be decisively dealt with. That remains our promise to the people of Nigeria, who elected us to keep them safe and secured. The peace and stability of our dear country will continue to be of utmost importance. You, the police are our points men and you must rise to the occasion.”
He also tasked the police to develop a policy on cyber warfare that has as its strategic focus on the prevention of cyber-attacks against critical national infrastructure, minimising national vulnerability to cyber-attacks and minimising damage and recovery time from cyber-attacks.
In his remarks, Commandant of the Academy, AIG Abdulraham Ahmed, said the school has boosted the nation’s security workforce with the training of 1,748 officers in addition to the present batch of graduating officers.
He acknowledged the support of stakeholders, including the Minister of Police Affairs, Inspector General of Police, the Attorney General of the Federation and the Federal Government through her agencies such as NUC NEEDS Assessment, Tertiary Education Trust Fund and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Despite these interventions, he disclosed that the Academy was short of academic and non- academic staff. He appealed to the president to grant approval for the recruitment of more staffers in the academy saying all efforts to secure employment waivers from the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation had failed.
President Buhari presented awards to the best graduating cadet, Rachel Babarinde and the second best, Isa Abdulateef.
