FG: Rehabilitation of Police Stations, Barracks Cost N5bn

Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja

Minister of Police Affairs, Dr. Muhammad Dingyadi, said yesterday that the  federal government has commenced rehabilitation of police stations and barracks in several parts of the country as well as the installation of intelligence equipment at the Force Headquarters and Zone 1 and Zone 2 Police  Headquarters at the cost of N5 billion.

He said the Ministry of Police Affairs was working in concert with the Ministry of Finance to effect the payment of six months arrears of salary owed personnel of the Nigeria Police.

He made the disclosure during the “PMB Administration Scorecard Series (2015-2023)” anchored by the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture at the National Press Centre, Abuja.

The minister stated that Nigeria Police Force had upgraded facilities in some training institutions, constructed and provided hospitals/health centres and equipped FCT Police Command. Others include rehabilitation of the Police Detective College at Enugu and the establishment  of Nigeria Police Cyber Crime Control centre.

He said government embarked on the rehabilitation of police stations and barracks in several parts of the country notably Kebbi, Edo, Borno, Yobe, Gombe, Bauchi, Plateau, Abia, Bayelsa, Nasarawa, Niger, Sokoto, Ogun, Lagos and FCT at the total cost of N5 Billion

“The intelligence-led policing paradigm has resulted in the deployment of operational, intelligence, and ICT-based apparatus to stem the tide of crimes and criminalities in Nigeria. “Some of these include the maximisation of the Force Intelligence Bureau Intelligence Response Team (FIB-IRT) and the Special Tactical Squad (FIB-STS). The ‘NPF Rescue Me’, an application for emergency response; NPF Crime and Incident Database Centre, the Interpol Cybercrime Reporting platform at incb.npf.gov.ng is available 24/7 for the reportage of cybercrime-related complaints”, he said.

“This includes all offences provided for by the Cybercrime Act, of 2015, including the production and distribution of child pornography. The Interpol cybercrime unit is also empowered to mitigate possible cyber-attacks,” he said.

Dingyadi added that tremendous improvement was recorded in the review of the training curriculum, for the Nigeria police training institutions to align with contemporary policing realities in the country.

“A proposal is in the pipeline to give legal backing to police training institutions nationwide.  this is geared towards giving them self-accounting status, so as to enhance capabilities of training institutions to produce quality manpower needed to provide 21st-century police services in Nigeria,” he said.