Stakeholders Blame Insecurity on Refusal to Provide Useful Information

Hammed Shittu in Ilorin

Stakeholders in the security management that include Nigeria Police and officials of the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC) yesterday blamed the upsurge of security breaches in the country on the unwillingness of Nigerians to provide useful information on security breaches in their localities to the police.

The stakeholders, which included Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Tuesday Assayomo; the National Chairman of PCRC, Dr. Faruq Abdullahi Mai- Yamman and Kwara State’s Chairman of PCRC, Mr. Adebayo Lawal, spoke at a one-day capacity building seminar on digital information for members of the PCRC in Ilorin, Kwara State capital.

Asayamo, who declared the seminar open, blamed the prevailing security breaches in the country on the failure of Nigerians to volunteer useful information that could assist the police in fighting crimes.

He said that unlike the western world where citizens provide information to police, Nigerians “develop cold feet” in rendering information to the police.

Assayomo, who was represented by the Assistant Commissioner of Police in Charge of Administration, Mr. Oyeleye Adegboyega, said: “Security problems are created by the society and the best way  to tackle them is for the  members of the society to assist the police  with useful information.

“The task of maintaining peace and security is a herculean task that cannot be handled by the police alone. The police are not large enough to be everywhere. We cannot be in every home, every streets but Nigerians are everywhere and we recognised that without the input of the public, security will fail.”

Yaman, in his address, charged members of the committee to “source and provide intelligence information” that would assist the police in fighting crimes.

He also charged them to gain the confidence of the police for the public and promote the image of the Nigerian police force as an institution.

He said that the PCRC was established 38 years ago to “work with the police by providing them with information that will enhance peace and security.”

Earlier, Lawal said that the members of the committee would continue to help the police with credible information that would ensure peace and security in the state.