Terrorism Compels FG to Recruit 100, 000 Policemen, Expand CCTV

As part of concerted efforts gearing towards fighting terrorism and  ensuring safety of lives and property, the federal government today said it has concluded plans to recruit 100,000 policemen and 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.

Speaking at the National Security Summit on Community Partnership Approach to Internal Security and Crime Management organised  by the Nigeria Police in Abuja, President Buhari stated that the government is also considering the expansion of the Close Circuit Television monitoring system across major cities and towns in the country.

Buhari explained that effective policing is dependent on the level of security-consciousness of the citizens and the strength of the understanding that exists between the policing agencies and the community.

This he said, explains why no police force in the world no matter how well motivated, equipped and trained can successfully operate without the acceptance and support of the various communities.

Buhari stressed the need for community input to policing and crime management in the country in view of the current security challenges in which kidnapping, armed robbery, murder, transnational crimes, terrorisms and other organized crimes have evolved to threaten the national values and over all progress as a nation.

Stating that unemployment, illiteracy, radicalization, negative peer group influence, substance abuse and erosion of family and moral values are social factors that under-lie criminal tendencies, the President averred that the task of addressing these challenges is that of parents, teachers, community and the state.
  "It is acknowledgement of this that I have identified youth empowerment, as one of the cardinal objectives of our administration, in furtherance to this the federal government is planning to employ at least an extra 100, 000 police officers and 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.

"In the mean time efforts are being made to enhance the operational capacity of officers of the Nigeria police through a tailor made training programme that will give them the right civil orientation in their roles as guardians of the constitution," the president said.

In appreciation of the strategic roles of the citizens and the community in modern policing, the President stated that his administration would encourage states to look at states-level community interacting with police under a model that will integrate members of the community to policing functions at the grass roots level.

He commended the police leadership for dismantling roadblocks and deploying policemen in the highway to protect Nigerians.

The Inspector-General of Police (IG), Solomon Arase, called for adequate funding of the Nigeria Police to ensure operational efficiency, stressing that it was only through adequate funding that the huge logistic demand of the police can be met.

The IG noted that modern policing was a cost-intensive venture of which the benefits far outweigh the value of budgetary investment.