Nigeria to recruit additional 10,000 police officers

The Nigerian government is set to recruit additional 10,000 police officers to boost youth employment and security in the country.

President Muhammadu Buhari made this known Monday, saying that the government will also establish a properly trained and equipped Federal Anti-Terrorism Multi-Agency Task Force that will effectively address the challenge of future insurgency in a sustainable manner.

The president was speaking at a one-day national security summit, held at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, organised by the Nigeria Police Force.

Mr. Buhari noted that the need for community input to policing and crime management in Nigeria has become more imperative considering the current national security challenges in which kidnapping, armed robbery, murder, transnational crimes, terrorism and other organized crimes.

He said in the meantime, efforts are being made to enhance the operational capacity of officers of the police force through training programmes that will give them the right civil orientation in their roles as guardians of the constitution, he said at the summit.

To improve public security, he said consideration is also being given to the expansion of the CCTV Monitoring System across major cities and towns in the country, while the police accountability mechanism will be strengthened.

The president said his administration will encourage states to look at state-level community inter-acting with police under a model that will integrate members of the community to policing functions at the grassroots level.

“It is my high expectation that this National Security Summit will develop pathways for the attainment of this policy focus of the new administration” he said.

He commended the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force for appreciating the yearnings of members of the public by ordering the dismantling of police road blocks which have consistently constituted a dark side of policing and become an object of discord between the police and the citizens of this country.

He also lauded the Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, for introducing the ‘Safer Highway Motorised Patrol’ Scheme and for deploying 555 Patrol Vehicles along all major highways to fill the void created by the enforcement of the order dismantling road blocks.

He described it as a proactive action meant to reassure citizens of their safety and security.

The president urged the force to adhere to all United Nations and African Union Charters and other regional global instruments on Human Rights while also introducing Alternative Dispute Resolution procedures to policing functions.

“These initiatives, if properly implemented, will undoubtedly address those factors that threaten public confidence in the Police and hence, create good grounds for the practice of community-led policing to flourish. I am tasking the police not only to “say” but to “do” as we are promising to Nigerians” he said.

Earlier the Inspector General of Police had Solomon Arase called for community driven policing as an alternative to effectively curbing insecurity within Nigeria as well tackle inadequate man power profile in the Nigeria Police Force.