UK Boosts Security at IDP Camps

By Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri

In its bid to improve security for displaced persons in troubled Borno State, the United Kingdom government through its Conflict Security and Stabilisation Fund Tuesday donated nine containerised police stations to three Internally Displaced (IDP) camps in Maiduguri.

The Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, who was represented by the Borno State Police Commissioner, Damien Chukwu, at the presentation of the containerised police station, said the fund needed in the rebuilding of police facilities destroyed in the North-east at the peak of Boko Haram crisis was beyond government.
He said: “Quite a number of police facilities across the state are being rebuilt or renovated. It is common knowledge that this Herculean task of rebuilding and rehabilitations cannot be borne by government alone.”

He added that: “In the course of the interactive meeting with stakeholders, the team stated they were in the state to assess the possibility of strengthening police presence in IDP camps, create a platform for police-public collaboration aimed at improving on community policing amongst other contributions.”

He said: “In partial fulfillment of these promises, nine containerised police stations were delivered to the Borno State Command for use in IDP camps.
“This gesture will in no small measure address the short-term office accommodate for the police and other security agencies at IDP camps.”

Delivering the items, the team leader of Nigeria Policing Programme, Mrs. Kemi Okenyodo, explained that the “Nigeria Policing Program (NPP) is a national program which is supported by the Security Justice Reform Program with support from the Conflict Security and Stabilisation Fund of the UK government. The objective of the program is improving delivery of safety and security by the Nigerian Police Force in target states (and Borno State is one of these states).”

She said at the early scoping of the programme and discussion with the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris,  the security needs of internally displaced persons in the camps was established as one of the priority of the Nigeria Police Force as well as that of the Federal and State governments.

She said: “In response to this, the NPP is working with the Nigeria Police Force particularly the Borno State Police Command, to address these priority area.  We are doing this by (1) training about 120 police officers (male and female) on improving their skills for enhanced service delivery to the communities they serve.  (2)  Contributing to improved working conditions / environment to the Borno State Police Command by providing 9 containersied police posts.”

Okenyodo said: “The NPP believes that an improved working environment plays a role in effective service delivery by the police to the communities they serve.

“It is our hope that the provision of these containerized police posts would serve as an initial step of improving working conditions for the police in Borno state as they transit from a humanitarian emergency into a development phase.”