The Federal Government says it will implement the report on community policing to tackle the activities of terrorists, bandits and other security challenges in the country.
Mr Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, gave the assurance when he received the report of the committee on Strengthening Internal Security Framework and Community Policing (SISFCP) in Nigeria on Friday in Abuja.
“I am greatly honoured to receive the report of the committee to study the recommendations and implementation strategies on strengthening internal security framework and community policing in Nigeria.
“This Committee was inaugurated on Tuesday, 7th May, 2019 and given two months to complete the assignment.
“Let me therefore appreciate members of the Committee for working tirelessly to conclude this assignment, despite other pressing official engagements.
“Let me also use this opportunity to salute your courage, hard work and patriotism as without these, it would have been extremely difficult to complete the assignment in good time.
“Nigerians and indeed the present administration prides itself as having the political will to tackle the issues of insecurity occasioned by the activities of terrorists, kidnappers, bandits, militants, which have remained serious threats to good governance, effective service delivery.
“And overall economic development and wellbeing of Nigerians,’’ he said.
He expressed happiness that the work done by the committee had covered the issues of policy, institutional and legal frameworks as well as the underlying factors that impede the capacity of security agencies.
Earlier, Mrs Amina Shamaki, Permanent Secretary, Special Services Office, in the SGF office, while presenting the report, recalled the pledge made by the committee to deliver the report on time.
According to her, at the inauguration, I assured the SGF that the committee will approach the assignment with all the seriousness it required, today that promise has come to pass.
“The committee, in the course of the assignment, worked assiduously, researched, analysed and made comparative studies in order to propose the set of recommendations that will positively impact on all aspects of internal security in Nigeria.
“Correspondingly, the committee has proposed innovative alternative funding mechanism to ensure the provision of infrastructure, equipping agencies with modern gadgets and weapons and for the welfare and wellbeing of personnel.
“The committee emphasised the deployment of technology, particularly for intelligence gathering, pre-empting incidences of crime and for resolving complex investigations,” she said.
Also in his contribution, the Inspector General of Police (I-G), Abubakar Adamu, thanked the committee on SISFCP for their speedy work on the policing initiative.
Adamu noted that the report came up with the workable strategies, which according to him, will aid the speedy implementation of the community policing initiative.
“The time has come that this community policing initiative must be implemented and it is this report that we’ve been waiting for, for us to go ahead and do the implementation.
“I have gone all over the country and informed Nigerians that the way it will go in policing today, is community policing initiative,’’ the I-G said.
According to him, policing should be driven from the community rather than from the uniform personnel.
The I-G further assured Nigerians that with the report submitted to the Federal Government by the committee, the government would implement the initiative to further strengthen the security of the nation. (NAN)