ICPC, IGP seek closer collaboration on training of personnel

WITH the sole aim of combating crime and corruption in line with the posture of the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, the Inspector General of Police, Soloman Arase; and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission (ICPC), have agreed for closer collaboration in the area of personnel training, to the benefit of Nigerians.

Arase, during a courtesy visit to ICPC in Abuja, stated that collaboration between the Nigeria Police and the ICPC dated back to 2001 when the commission was established and The Police provided personnel to handle the investigation department of the commission.  

Arase said:“The Nigerian Police Force had contributed immensely towards the birth of the ICPC and all along, they have been able to cooperate and to seek for further collaboration to ensure that we are able to drive our anti-corruption crusade to its logical conclusion.”

The IGP noted that his visit to the ICPC was significant because “I felt it is time for us to start changing the narratives about the Nigerian Police Force.

“The perception about my boys on the highway. Sometimes they do things that most Nigerians find very uncomfortable. I have come up with some broad policy trust to reverse that trend. We have been able to remove the road blocks from the highway, we have placed motorised patrols, we have also placed a technical platform where members of the public can effectively interact with us while monitoring the conduct of the men on the highway.

“The ICPC, this is where you also come in. I believe that our collaboration should be both horizontal and vertical not only at strategic level but also down there. And one of the areas I think we can further cement our relationship is if we are able to encourage joint training in our various training institutions”, the IGP said.

This training according to him, will create a better environment where investors, both local and foreign, can feel safe to do business.

In response, Chairman of the ICPC, Ekpo Nta used the occasion to praise the IGP for his efforts at better positioning the Police. He also praised the Police for its contribution to the success of the ICPC so far.

“I do know the case tracking analysis that was introduced by him. I have also deployed the same platform in ICPC and when I was negotiating with the UNODC in Vienna, they always mentioned his passion for that platform and we have been receiving the same training from the same consultant”, he said, adding that further closing ranks between ICPC and the Police Force will do the country good in the nearest future.

Nta also noted the deployment of technology in the Police Force of recent, and the IGP’s zero tolerance for corruption where it involves police and citizen’s interface. “With the changes that are going on, I am sure that men and officers will be very proud to work under you”, he remarked.

Explaining further, he said: “I want to use this opportunity to sincere thank the Nigerian Police Force for its strategic support to the ICPC since our inception in year 2001, they provided for so many years the headship of our investigation department.

We of course rely extensively on Police Commissions all over the country during investigations and arrests anywhere we go to, the first person we call upon is the commissioner of Police or DPO as the case might be”.

“There’s no doubt that the Police Force has passed through so many trying times and as far as we are concerned in ICPC, it will triumph because it has been of robust resilience because given the right environment, the Nigerian Police Force has shown its potentials. We tend to judge the Police Force by misguided personnel, but I want to say that on behalf of ICPC and discerning Nigerians, we thank all the members of Police Force for always being there for this country, for us individually and we hope that as we expect them to protect our human rights, we would also protect and encourage their human and personal rights as citizens of this country”, Nta said.