Nigeria needs 31,000 new officers yearly for five years, says Idris

The Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, yesterday urged the federal government to recruit additional 31,000 police officers annually over the next five years, to ensure effective policing across the country.

Idris said in a message to the graduation of constables at the Police College, Kaduna, that by providing additional 155,000 police officers over the next five years, Nigeria would meet the UN policing ratio of 1:400 persons.

“Currently the Nigeria Police Force is operating at a ratio of one to 600, which is far below the approved United Nations ratio.”

He commended President Buhari for approving the recruitment of 10, 000 police officers in 2016 to boost the working capacity of the force. The government had earlier indicated its intention to recruit 10,000 police officers annually.

The police chief, who was represented by Maiagari Dikko, a deputy inspector general of police, charged the constables to be upright, shun all temptations and intimidation and work diligently to serve the country better.