The President has explained how his administration intends to tackle Nigeria’s security challenges with the return of the Ministry of Police Affairs.
According to him, the return of the ministry is purposely to drive the new initiative of ensuring proper provision of security for lives and property.
President Muhammadu Buhari also said the ministry was brought back to enhance proactive intelligence gathering to nip crimes in the bud before they escalate.
He made the remarks on Friday when he received traditional rulers from the North led by the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
“I have decided to meet with Your Highnesses to assure you that government is determined to tackle and deal decisively with all security challenges facing us as a nation,” the President was quoted as saying in a statement by his media adviser, Femi Adesina.
He added, “This consultation, therefore, is to engage you our royal fathers so that, collectively, we can arrive at solutions to any and all security problems in the country.
“We must all play our part to finally address these security challenges, particularly traditional rulers, in your respective communities, where you feel the pulse of the people, being the closest to the populace at the grassroots level.
“Working with the state governments also, we intend to improve the equipping of the police force with advanced technology and equipment that can facilitate their work. To drive this, I recently created a full-fledged Ministry of Police Affairs.”
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President Buhari said the entire structure of the Nigeria Police Force is being overhauled, re-positioned and primed with modern technological gadgets.
He noted that this is aimed at meeting the rising security challenges across the nation, while an intelligence loop among all security outfits has been created.
The President hinted that the ongoing reform of the police would include recruitment of more hands, cultivation of stronger local intelligence, and networking with communities, traditional rulers and adequate training.
He, therefore, urged the traditional rulers to provide more support to security agencies with their versatile knowledge of communities and individuals.
President Buhari said, “These policies and programmes include a robust revamping of police intelligence gathering capacity and the significant boosting of the numbers of security personnel in our local communities.
“This in specific terms will include recruiting more police officers and doing so whenever possible from their local government areas, where they would then be stationed in the best traditions of policing worldwide.”
“As I said during my meeting with the traditional rulers from the South-West, directives have been issued to the appropriate federal authorities to speedily approve licensing for States requesting the use of drones to monitor forests and other criminal hideouts,” he added.
The President said CCTVs would be installed on highways and other strategic locations so that activities in some hidden places can be exposed, more effectively monitored, and open to actionable interventions.
Peaceful Zamfara
In his remark, the Sultan assured the President of the full support of traditional rulers in the country.
He said, “We have come to assure you of our total support, total commitment and undiluted dedication to moving the nation forward as one of the best countries of the world.”
The monarch noted that the traditional thrones in various communities predated the amalgamation of the protectorates, and all the forefathers had always upheld the virtues of peace, unity, and stability.
He assured the President that traditional leaders across the country had been in constant communication on the security challenges and promised to support the government to succeed.
The Sultan also commended Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawalle, for the relative peace in the state after he was sworn into office, and decided to open up all channels of communication, urging other governors to adopt the same model.
He also called on the President to strengthen the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for more effective monitoring of drug-related situations in the country for correction and prosecutions.
