IGP commends Senate on police reform bill, others

• AIG, CP harp on community policing, urge evidence-based investigation
The Acting Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, has commended the Senate for carrying out some legislative reforms to boost the operations of the police.

Adamu, in a letter written to Senate President Bukola Saraki, dated April 25, 2019, said the legislative support so far received by his office and the police force were commendable and appreciated by the police generally.

The Acting IGP, who specifically mentioned the Police Trust Fund Bill and the Police Act (Amendment) Bill, which have been passed into law, thanked the Senate for expressly working on the Police Academy Establishment Bill, which he said, if passed, would help to restore the lost primacy of the Police Force.

Meanwhile, following the rising waves of insecurity in the country, particularly in South-West states, the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone XI, Leye Oyebade, has charged the police commands to double their efforts in community policing in South-West.

Oyebade stated this yesterday while addressing security personnel, the press and other members of the public during a familiarisation and interaction tour visit to the Oyo State Police Command and security stakeholders.

The AIG, who is in charge of Osun, Oyo and Ondo state commands, said: “Officers must display exemplary commitment for the safety of the entire citizenry through involving the community in policing, being conversant with legal issues and also having the ability to deal with dispute settling as a tool for quality service delivery.

He said the police and other security stakeholders must relate with environmental topography, culture and moral values of the people so that citizens won’t be denied adequate protection.

The Governor of Oyo State, represented by his Special Adviser on Security Matters, Segun Abolarinwa, commended the zonal and state police commands on their effort towards the realisation of a standard community policing in the state.

He promised that the state government would continue to synergise and corroborate with the police to realise their constitutional goals.

In a related vein, the Bauchi State newly-posted Commissioner of Police (CP), Habu Sani Ahmadu, has stressed the need for integrated intelligence-led community policing to abate the spate of insurgency in the country.

He, however, called for evidence-based handling of cases, saying: “We have to collate the intelligence and operational units at all levels to ensure that our operations are guided by actionable intelligence. Our investigation of cases have to be evidence-based and intelligence-driven and should generate information for intelligence analysis.”

He, therefore, craved for the community support to ensure effectiveness of police in prevention of crimes and violent conflict.

The CP, who spoke while addressing journalists in Bauchi yesterday, said the objectives of modern policing and crime control as global best practices are to contribute towards the creation of reinforcement of trust in communities.