By Ahmed Ajikobi
The Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, has said that the Force Headquarters will be recruiting 10,000 officers this year and that the exercise will continue for the next six years to increase the shortage of man power the Nigeria Police Force.
He also said that training and re-training of officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force for effective service delivery would not be left out.
The Inspector-General of Police, who disclosed this while addressing officers and men of Kwara State Police Command during his One -Day state working visit to Ilorin, urged the force to shun bribery and corruption and rededicate themselves for better service delivery.
IGP explained that a total number of 20,000 police personnel will be employed this year to take care of last year planned employment that did not take place.
“The President has given approval for us to employ 10,000 every year for six years; we have started but we have not done that of 2020. Between now and 2021 we would do the one for 2020 and 2021. Their training is for about six months we are expecting to increase our strength by 20,000 latest by the end of 2022,” he said.
Addressing War Against Insurgency, Banditry, he said “the police is not fighting alone, all other security agencies are fighting the bandit including the military which is leading the war”
Earlier, in his address, the Commissioner of Police, Kwara State Command, Tuesday Amienbo had attributed the successes recorded by the command to the Inspector-General of Police’s community policing strategy.
“I have no doubt in my mind that your visit to Kwara State is a manifestation of your avowed commitment to ensuring the country’s security challenges are surmounted.
“We are all aware of the security situations in the North East, North West, South East, South-South, North Central and South West of Nigeria before your assumption of office.
“However, we thank God for your purposeful and focused leadership in piloting the Police nationwide; most citizens of the country are already attesting to your impactful policing strategies which have helped in reducing crime and criminality in Nigeria, especially North West and North East the epicenter of Boko-Haram insurgency, kidnapping and banditry and other crimes in some parts of the North Central.
“Once again thank you so much sir for this visit.
“IGP sir, Kwara State was created on 27th May, 1967. It is located in the North Central Geographical Zone of the country, with sixteen local government areas. It is a multi-ethnic and multi religious state, having boundaries with Niger, Kogi, Ekiti, Osun and Oyo States.
“Kwara State also has a long stretch of international border with Republic of Benin. The people of Kwara are predominantly farmers.
“The Kwara State Police Command has establishment strength of eight thousand, but today, the personnel strength is less than three thousand five hundred.
“The command has Eight Area Commands, Fifty Six Divisional Headquarters and over Seventy Police Posts, spread across the State.
“IGP sir, you have done so much for the command especially in the area of logistics, and other crime fighting equipment, but like Oliver Twist, we are still looking up to you for more in terms of vehicles, communication and tracking gadgets, manpower and others.
“The command, as at present, has no serviceable Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs), because the two we have are still undergoing repairs in Sagamu, Ogun State.
“Permit me sir, to use this opportunity to thank His Excellency, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, the Executive Governor of Kwara State, for his love for the Kwara State Police Command which has resulted in his robust logistics and moral support for the Command, especially in donating vehicles to the command, renovation of the 68PMF Squadron Barracks and the ongoing renovation of ‘A’ Division Barracks.
“He has also started the drilling of sixteen bore-holes in Police Barracks to ease the water challenges.
“Kwara State is called the State of Harmony but with her fair share of security challenges like kidnapping, herdsmen/farmers clashes, cultism, boundary disputes, communal clashes, migration of people from the crisis-ridden states to Kwara State, the State has become crime-proned.
“Kwara State has three Senatorial Districts; the North Senatorial District has an international border with Republic of Benin in Baruten Local Government Area, which makes the area vulnerable to cross boundary crimes like smuggling and human trafficking.
Kaiama Local Government Area of the State has a large ungoverned forest reserve that stretches to Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State, which also makes the place a bandit rendezvous.
“The shortage of man-power has affected our policing capacity in the state, especially now that bandits are being bombarded and chased away from Zamfara and Katsina States.
The concern of Kwarans today is that they do not enter Kwara State through this ungoverned reserve forest in the Northern part of the State, hence my subtle request to the IGP to graciously order for the return of our Mobile Policemen currently on special duty in other States, outside Kwara so as to help strengthen the security of the state.
“Sir, in carrying out your orders of ensuring that the states are safe and secure, I am glad to state that our efforts in curtailing the activities of criminals in the state are yielding positive results; kidnap victims were rescued unhurt without payment of ransom and kidnappers have also been frustrated by our eagle-eyed Policemen.
“I want to thank the IGP for his quick response in dispatching a team of STS and IRT to the Command to assist in the rescue of a 300L Mass Communication student of Kwara State University kidnapped on 23/8/2021 who was eventually rescued and all the kidnappers arrested and all the firearms recovered.
“I also want to inform the IGP that all these results are products of collaboration, cooperation and synergy with security stakeholders in the state, including vigilante, hunters, odua operatives and others, in line with the Community Policing Policy of the Inspector General of Police,” he said.
