Buhari, Osinbajo, Governors, IGP Perfect Plans for Community Policing

By Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, state governors and the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, are currently perfecting plans for the smooth take-off of community policing across the six geo-political zones of the country.
This comes as the President yesterday in Abuja ordered an immediate reinforcement of the security architecture in his homestead of Katsina as well as the prosecution of perpetrators of violence which claimed some lives in the state on Wednesday.

Giving an update on community policing while briefing journalists in the State House after a meeting with the president, Ekiti State Governor and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Dr. Kayode Fayemi, said he was in the Presidential Villa to brief the president on update on community policing and other related security matters.
According to him, the meeting with the President was the fallout of the previous meeting of the Security Committee of the National Economic Council (NEC) which he said mandated him, as the chairman, to brief both the president and the vice-president on the matter and simultaneously secure their support wherever necessary.

He listed such areas where the support of the two heads of the federal government would be needed to include the arrangements ahead of the launch of community policing; coordination among governors and security heads across the six zones of the country as well as recruitment arrangements.
Fayemi, who further disclosed that the recruitment of 10,000 into the Nigeria Police was ongoing, added that the number was far from being enough to tackle the magnitude of security challenges confronting the country.
According to him, plans are currently being mulled to carry out additional recruitments from N-power beneficiaries who are serving out their tenures as well as youth corps members.

He said: “I came to brief Mr. President on the outcome of the Security Committee of the National Economic Council which I chair and which has just met to review concerns, issues around security and our proposed reactions on those. This was a meeting that had in its membership the governors from the six zones, the Inspector General of Police, Chief of Defence Staff and the National Security Adviser.
“It was the outcome of the last NEC meeting which focused exclusively on security. That committee met a couple of days ago and I was asked to brief both the vice president who chairs the NEC and the president as well on the aspect of the work of the sub-committee of NEC that will require the commander-in-chief’s support, namely, the organisation of the community policing arrangement that the IGP has announced publicly as his own way of effective response to security challenges across the board; the coordination between governors and security chiefs within the six zones and then recruitment into the law enforcement agencies.”

He further added: “As you may be aware, certain recruitments are going on now particularly with regards to the police. But, we feel in our humble opinion that 10,000 policemen and women are not enough to add to the police in tackling the dearth of security agents in the country. That we will have to figure out a way to increase that number either out of the N-Power cadets who are coming to the end of their service year having spent two years or youth service corps members or any of the other institutions that will enable us boost the manpower of the Nigeria Police Force.”

Fayemi said that Buhari commended NEC for paying special attention to security matters and also urged the committee to work with the security chiefs whom he said had briefed him on the matter at Thursday’s security meeting.
“Mr. President also said that jointly, we should work out the detailed modalities for the suggested date so that it can be drafted into a plan of action,” he added.Buhari Orders Immediate Reinforcement of Security in Katsina State

Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday in Abuja ordered an immediate reinforcement of the security architecture in his homestead of Katsina as well as the prosecution of perpetrators of violence which claimed some lives in the state on Wednesday.

Presidential spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, said in a statement last night that Buhari warned herdsmen and communities to stop taking laws into their hands by resorting to violence at every provocation.
He also said Buhari warned the herdsmen returning from the South as a result of the rainy season to respect the boundaries of farmers and villagers while the communities must also desist from attacking herdsmen.

According to the statement, the president commiserated with families that lost their loved ones in the attacks from herdsmen, assuring the state that the security structure would be further strengthened to avoid unnecessary violence between herdsmen and communities.
“President Buhari, who commended the State Government for providing logistic support to security outfits to carry out their operations of protecting innocent citizens, said the federal government will continue to create enabling environment for citizens to go about their businesses without fear of harassments or violence.

“The President directed security outfits in the state and all parts of the country to work towards preventive, rather than reactionary measures; strengthen inter-agency intelligence sharing and deploy updated security platforms; and ensure partnership and harmonious relationship with community leaders and members for local intelligence, “the statement added.