Why police cannot protect all citizens, says Arase

The Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, has said that the current number of policemen in Nigeria is far too inadequate to provide security to all Nigerians. He explained the size of the Nigeria police currently put at 305 policemen and women is not enough to guarantee the security of all segments of Nigeria.

Arase made this known yesterday while delivering a public lecture on the topic: “Police and Public Partnership in Prevention and Control of Violent Crime and Conflicts in Nigeria” at the Multi-Purpose Hall of the University of Jos.

The police boss stated that “the expectations of members of the public in Nigeria are many and varied and exceed the resources and support given to the police”, adding that “failures on the part of the police are easily observed and widely reported and condemned while achievements of the police are rarely recognized, applauded and rewarded.”

Arase explained that “police are in constant contact with dangerous persons and in dangerous situations,” even as he said “the Nigeria Police has remained steadfast to its responsibility of guaranteeing the safety of the lives and property of the citizens even at the risk of their own lives.”

Arase explained that between January 2014 and December last year, a total of 278 police officers paid the supreme sacrifice in the discharge of their statutory mandate in relation to enhancement of community peace and security, even as 194 others sustained varying degree of injuries.