On Wednesday, April 29, the Acting Inspector General of
Police (AIGP), Solomon Arase was inaugurated at Police Headquarters, Abuja.
Below is his inaugural speech and his new strategy of policing…
It is my honour and privilege to welcome you to my inaugural
meeting with Assistant InspectorsGeneral of Police and Commissioners of Police.
In so doing, I wish to formally thank the President of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan GCFR for considering me worthy of
appointment as the Acting InspectorGeneral of Police of this great nation.
Beyond being symbolic of the confidence reposed in my professional ability, my
choice among other equally competent officers at this crucial time in our
nation’s history represents a wakeup call to the Nigeria Police Force under my
command to fashion out new approaches to policing in Nigeria. It is for this
reason that this meeting was convened.
2. The meeting is designed to achieve four major purposes.
First is to enable professional interaction between the Police Management Team and
field officers and create a peer review platform that will strengthen our crime
management ability. Second is to evaluate police performance during the
recently concluded general elections. This is with a view to identifying
performance gaps and critical operational challenges that can be addressed in
the process of planning for future electoral engagements.
3. The third purpose of this Conference is to evolve plans
for a seamless Presidential, Governorship and State/National Assembly inauguration
ceremonies, while the fourth is to lay out the policy thrust of my
administration and define clear implementation strategies. The detail Strategic
Policing Plan which has been developed will be availed all strategic police
managers here present for their strict guidance. The plan is designed to
courageously and professionally address critical issues affecting the optimal
performance of the Police, while also striving to restore citizens’ trust as a
conscious strategy aimed at managing crime and enhancing national security.
4. Critical policing areas to be addressed by the Strategic
Plan include the following:
i. Corruption–The loss of public respect and confidence in Police
as well as our inability to effectively tackle crimes in the most ethical and
professional manner have been widely attributed to the challenge of corruption
within the policing system. This administration intends to pursue a twoway
approach in addressing the menace of corruption in the Police. The first is to
develop frameworks and interventions tha twill address root causes of
corruption. In this regard, official factors like logistics and welfare
challenges that create grounds for corrupt tendencies by police officers will
be vigorously addressed. The second approach is to pursue a very robust anticorruption
enforcement strategy that will leave no serving police officer and citizens under
any illusion about its integrity, and firm commitment to national ethical
rebirth and development. The drive will be clear, coordinated, massive,firm and
sustained and it will target and tackle issues relating to commercialization of
bail process, the nuisance of road blocks; abuse of police powers,
particularly, in relation to pretrial detention.
The enforcement process of this policy will engender the rejuvenation,
refocusing, empowerment and motivation of the Monitoring Units, XSquads and
Provost Marshal Sections of the Force to enhance their competence and to effectively
position them to lead the anticorruption drive.
Accordingly, very soon, the nation will witness a massive and
sustained nationwide deployment of the anticorruption action Units of the
Force for enforcement functions. The enforcement initiatives will, however, be
laced with inhouse and national public anticorruption enlightenment programmes,
a whistleblowing mechanism, and push for enhanced welfare and logistics
empowerment as a preventive measure to petty corruption in the Force. I must
sound a note of warning here. The new anticorruption crusade of the Force will
take full cognisance of the appropriate sections of our criminal laws and hold
both the giver and taker of bribes accountable.
Accordingly, much as official corruption will be dealt with
in the Force, corruptminded members of the public are sternly warned to
refrain from corrupting the police system as they will also be brought to the
justice they equally deserve.
5. Aside anticorruption which represents the core of my
policing Vision, other vital components of the Strategic Plan include the
following:
i. HumanRights Driven Policing– which will address citizens
concern for custodial violence (including abuse of power of pretrial
detention, poor and inhabitable custodial facilities, violations of rights of
detainees, forced confessions, misuse of firearms, and any other official police
action that amounts to degradation of human dignity and deprivation of liberty
and right to life in violation of provisions of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights and Fundamental Human Rights provisions as enshrined in Chapter IV
of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution.
ii. IntelligenceLed Investigation/ Operations and Community
Partnership – This will engender massive training of Intelligence and Crime
Analysts as a conscious strategy of broadening the Intelligence/Crime Analysis
base of the Force; and establishment and equipment of Intelligence/Crime
Analysis Laboratory in all State Commands. Application of intelligence – led
policing strategy will discourage custodial approach to investigations as the
intelligence assets of the Force would have been deployed to gather evidence before
a suspect will be considered for arrest. It will also shorten the time between arrest
and commencement of prosecution.
iii. Case Diversion, Fast Track Trials and Restorative Justice
– The plan is to collaborate with experts in the enhancement of our capacity to
engage alternative dispute resolution options in peace, security and crime management
in line with modern and global dictates.
iv. Engagement of cuttingedge technology and best practices
to all levels of police functions in Nigeria – This strategy will
revolutionalise policing in Nigeria by navigating the Nigeria Police from the
current analogue and conventional policing approaches to engagement of full policing
technology to all crime management and operational activities of the Force.
In launching the NPF into the technologydriven policing world,
emphasis will be on Crime Scene Management; establishment of Stateofthe art
National Forensic Support Centre; Incar camera and incar data base access to support
patrol functions; establishment of National Criminal Data Base (Criminal
Investigations Record System); exploring possibility of securing authorised
access to existing Data Bases (National Identity Card Management Data Base;
FRSC Motor Licence Data Base; etc) that could support police operations; Crime
Mapping; exploration of possibility of engagement of less lethal technologies/weapon
system such as electromuscular disruption technology (Taser or Stun Guns) by
police on routine patrol functions to reduce incidents of fatalities associated
with misapplication of lethal weapons by the police.
v. Human Capacity Development: Galvanising development partners
including the UN, US, UK, Commonwealth Secretariat, and local and International
NGOs to support the identification of the training gaps in the NPF and provide
appropriate interventions. This will also entail the phased renovation and
upgrade of facilities at existing police institutions to meet best
international standards as well as the review of existing Training Curricula
and standards with a view to aligning them to modern dictates.
6. In order to facilitate the attainment of the longterm
objectives of these Strategies, I have directed as follows:
i. The IGP Monitoring Unit, XSquad and Force Provost
Marshall of the Force have been motivated and directed to immediately embark on
massive anticorruption enforcement operations. Any police officer caught
either through whistleblowing framework or direct operations of the enforcement
Units of the Force will be appropriately dealt with in line with established
disciplinary procedure of the Force and may additionally be prosecuted in the swiftest
fashion.
ii. While visible policing will be enhanced, I wish to in
clear terms, reemphasise that police road blocks remain banned. They are
public nuisance, points of corruption, and source of policecitizens’
frictions. The Commissioners of Police, Area Commanders and Divisional Police
Officers in whose jurisdiction illegal road blocks are detected will be
personally or vicariously held liable and strict and swift disciplinary actions
will be initiated against such officers.
iii. The Nigeria Police Intelligence School, Enugu which has
been closed to academic activities for over a year is to immediately reopen
and commence training activities for intelligence operatives, analysts and strategic
intelligence managers to support the intelligenceled policing Vision of my
leadership with effect from Monday 4th May, 2015.
iv. In order to ensure that the maximum security needed to
give our Magistrates, Judges and Justices the confidence to dispense criminal
justice is attained, the Judges Protection Unit will be immediately
reconstituted and specially equipped. Any nation desirous of justice owes its
Magistrates, Judges and Justices the sacred obligation of protection. This I
intend to advance. Consequently, police security details attached to civil commissioners
and other unauthorised individuals across the country will be reduced or withdrawn
as the case may be. The manpower drawn from this exercise will be committed to rejuvenation
of the Judges Protection Unit.
7. Ladies and gentlemen, while all efforts will be made to
address the peculiar logistic and welfare challenges of the Force, and while my
management team and I are determined to restore the lost primacy of the Nigeria
Police Force as the lead internal security management agency in Nigeria, the
best way to commence this journey is to undertake a wellintentioned programme
that will engender paradigm shift within our policing system.
8. It is now a matter of choice. For the serving police
officer, a choice between national service which will be duly rewarded, and corruption
which will be swiftly sanctioned. For the citizens, it is a choice between
supporting their Police to protect them with honour or compromising them to
weaken their capacity and dignity. Whatever is the consideration, Nigeria
Police has reached a turning point where it must rediscover itself, restore
citizens’ confidence, and prove that it has a cream of patriotic, disciplined
and professional officers that can and will ensure the attainment of its
Mandate. This requires leadership with character, courage, Vision and passion.
I am committed to providing this leadership. But, in so doing, I crave for the
support and understanding of the citizens and most importantly, you, the
gentlemen and women of the Press.
9. Let me end this address by once again by assuring the
Federal Government and citizens of this great nation that the confidence
reposed in me will not be misplaced as I am determined to deploy my broad professional
and intellectual assets in providing quality professional leadership for the
Nigeria Police Force. I can also reassure the nation of my firm determination
to restore the lost primacy of the Nigeria Police while engaging innovative
policing frameworks to engender national peace and security.
10. I thank you and pray that you all remain blessed.
5 Comments
Abeg no be police em be???
ReplyDeleteToo long to read through.
ReplyDeleteWe will wait for him to do all he has said here.
ReplyDeleteIs he going to be any different
ReplyDeleteAs if GMB will not remove him!
ReplyDelete