The Federal Government on Monday warned the Nigeria Police Force against the arbitrary arrest and detention of Nigerians.



Vice-President Namadi Sambo gave the warning while inaugurating a retreat for the Police High Command and officials of the Ministry of Police Affairs in Abuja.



Sambo, who also disclosed that N70bn had been made available to the Ministry of Police Affairs to start the police reform process, said that arbitrary arrest and detentions must stop in order to promote democratic policing in the country.



He also urged the police to change their operational strategy to reflect modern trends.



The Vice-President said that the Police must embrace modern scientific policing to complement their community policing initiative.



Sambo pointed out that many years of under- funding of the Police had “left the country with a Force that could not perform its constitutional role effectively.



“The nation has been bedevilled by problems of insecurity and violent crimes, such as kidnapping, armed robbery and pipeline vandalism.



“In an attempt to reverse this trend and give Nigerians a sense of security, the present administration initiated the Police Reform Programme, the biggest security reform project in the history of Nigeria.



“This is because the Federal Government attaches great importance to the security of lives and property. We are, therefore, committed towards fulfilling our obligations with regards to this project,” he said.



The vice-president said the Federal Government had accepted the cost implications of the reform programme, which would last a total of six years at the cost of ‘‘about N1.5tn.‘‘



He maintained that a dynamic funding option had been adopted, in view of the fact that the amount was above the capacity of the Federal Government.



He added, “This option calls for a multi-tier funding arrangement in which the federal and state governments, including the organised private sector, will contribute.”



He further asked the police to prioritise the implementation of community policing.



Sambo said, “I am very happy to note that the intelligence component of community policing has taken the initiative of creating divisional intelligence capability in pilot police stations.



“The police will have to take on a host of extra responsibilities and invest in extensive new partnerships as well as redefine its priorities and approaches in fighting crime.”



According to him, the underlying objective of the government was to build a safer and more secure environment for future generations.



Meanwhile, Vicar-General of the Catholic Archdiocese of Kaduna, Rev. Dr. Mathew Kukah on Monday said that Nigeria was being run like a criminal enterprise and government was operated as a distributive agency.



Kukah, who spoke at a retreat for senior police officers in Abuja on Monday, stated that social institutions could not perform because the Nigerian environment was dysfunctional, adding that the present form of government did not qualify to be called a democracy.



He said that Nigerians did not expect their leaders to have integrity as they knew that they (leaders) were not driven by higher spiritual values but by crass materialism and a desperate quest for material acquisition.



He said that the Nigeria Police Force like other Nigerian institutions could be expected to perform because the necessary requirements for such were lacking.















Kukah explained that the problem of the force was related to the ills plaguing the nation, adding that Nigerians needed to moderate their expectations of the police, as they could not be isolated from their environment.



The cleric pointed out that public perception of the police force was related to what was left of it after military rule in Nigeria, observing that the police were not playing a secondary role as a peace-keeping agency “because soldiers are still patroling our streets.”



He said, “Everybody keeps talking about poor police salary, lack of accommodation and so on, but we are just confusing the symptoms with the disease. The issue is that the failure of the police is related to the state of the nation. The police are the most unappreciated segment of our society.



“I am glad that Vice- President Mohammed Sambo acknowledged the problems of the police and pledged to re-kit and upgrade the Force. He has made a pledge that he must be held to; the society must hold him up to his words and promises because it is the interest of politicians not to do what they promised to do.”



A former Minister of Information, Prince Tony Momoh, blamed corruption in the polity for the poor image and performance of the police, adding that Nigerian policemen were known to win awards on international assignments.



“The public perception of the police is that they are doing a good thing in a bad way; they should therefore behave in a way they want to be seen, building the spiritual, intellectual and material aspect into the Force,” he said in a paper delivered at the event.











The vice-president expressed the hope that the participants of the retreat would come out with “a frank and common position that will help, not only to restore the image of the Force but also to reposition it.”



On the police reform programme, he said that a look at the 2010 reform implementation plan showed the expenditures in infrastructures and logistical upgrades.



He stated that aircraft, vehicles, communication gadgets, weapons as well as investigation and forensic equipment would be purchased for the police to enable them work effectively.



The vice-president added that new police stations, barracks, colleges and hospitals would built for the NPF.



Sambo stated that it was in realisation of the challenges before the NPF that the present administration embarked on an overhaul of the Force with the setting up of the M.D. Yususf-led Police Reform Committee to study and identify the problems of the police.



He pointed out that since criminal syndicates were now transnational, a different partnership approach to addressing the security challenges posed by them was required.



He called for an ethical and value-based orientation of police personnel and a fundamental structural change to the decision-making process of the NPF to make it accountable to the government on how it spends resources allocated to it.



Sambo said, “The importance of human rights cannot be over-emphasised. Civil society groups especially Amnesty International has been critical of the NPF as a non-respecter of human rights. To address this, the NPF must priotize the implementation of community policing.”



In his remark, the Minister of Police Affairs, Alhaji Adamu Waziri, noted that the current administration had demonstrated a remarkable effort to reform the police.



He said this was manifested in the salary increase of a police constable by the government by 300 per cent and the acceptance and subsequent commencement of implementation of the reform committee’s report.



“This administration accepted the M. D. Yusuf report and started the implementation by making its contribution of N79.02 billion in 2010 budget,‘‘ the minister said.



The one-day retreat titled “Towards an enduring democratic policing in Nigeria,” was attended by the Inspector- General of Police, Mr. Ogbonna Onovo, and other top police officers, including serving and retired Deputy and Assistant Inspectors- General of Police.


http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20100810564371

What we need is community friendly police which could only be achieved if local, state and federal police are allowed to enforce the power vested in these 3 tiers of government. What we have now is army of occupation mounting roadblock to coercively disposses Nigerians of there possesion. The truth is only Abians can stop kidnapping in Abia. An indigene of a place would not so brazenly demand for bribe from his kinsman on the road. The locals would be more effective at monitoring strange faces.

The road blocks between Aba and Portharcourt is an EYE SORE. Police block roads to collect money from motorist instead of protecting them from kidnappers. They make you spend more than two hours for a journey of 30minutes. the harassment, abuse etc is just too much. The police force really need purging.

will those cops listen?


www.Internationalstudentsloans.net
www.Internationalgraduateloans.com

This is a nice one,bt will they hear or adhere.The way police treats the citizens of this society is embarrassing on the road,your house,market places,joints almost every were you come across them they behave like dogs and not security.

Even the Law makers are harassing people . . , so what is new?

wales:

What we need is community friendly police which could only be achieved if local, state and federal police are allowed to enforce the power vested in these 3 tiers of government. What we have now is army of occupation mounting roadblock to coercively disposses Nigerians of there possesion. The truth is only Abians can stop kidnapping in Abia. An indigene of a place would not so brazenly demand for bribe from his kinsman on the road. The locals would be more effective at monitoring strange faces.

Haven't LASTMA given Nigerians enough taste of what it will be like if they were lagos state police? I use to support the clamour for community policing untilI realize what it could turn out to be.

Until Nigeria police stations are renovated to world standard,and their personnel reorientated they can never change their terrible patterns.Encounter with any Nigerian Police is hellish.

Na today?

story story

what is FG?
[img]http://s07.flagcounter.com/count/DymW/bg=ffffff/txt=ffffff/border=ffffff/columns=1/maxflags=1/viewers=3/labels=0/[/img]

The FG should lead by example.They need to stop harassing Nigerians first before telling the police.When you point 1 finger, the other 4 are pointing back at u.

How sad, in 2010 we are still trying, always trying, God help us sha.

Some big boys among the police force will take away the money and they will never stop harrassing innocent people.

mykalls:

The road blocks between Aba and Portharcourt is an EYE SORE. Police block roads to collect money from motorist instead of protecting them from kidnappers. They make you spend more than two hours for a journey of 30minutes. the harassment, abuse etc is just too much. The police force really need purging.

Exactly.
It's a nightmare and thats how it is between any cities in the east.

marcus1234:

what is FG?
[img]http://s07.flagcounter.com/count/DymW/bg=ffffff/txt=ffffff/border=ffffff/columns=1/maxflags=1/viewers=3/labels=0/[/img]

marc you again?!?

So sad that at this 21st century, Nigeria police are still behaving like 13Th century policing. Their strategies at times, make me wanna

I will suggest that, F/G should collect gun from the police men b/c the are using it to threatening us instead of protecting us.

they are in 10th century, police in Nigeria should be scraped,
they have no morals.
No orientation,
low level of understanding and reasoning. Poor justification.
Low mentalilty.
Greedy and Hungry
Etc

@Slex, U tire for @marc abi?

Is the FG just realizing this?


Bunch of hypocrites.

To help stop Nigeria police from harassing citizens, first, you have to completely ban officers from legal and illegal mind uttering substances. Drinking alcohols with deadly instruments at your command should be a no, no. Mentally impaired officers (substance induced or otherwise) with weapons of destruction should be of zero tolerance to the force. [color=#006600][/color]

Action speaks louder than voice.

Until people who join the Police Force are those who were passionate about the force from childhood, all that the FG is saying would remain a bunch of bullshit! Many of those who joined the police force were never passionate about it. Many joined out of joblessness. How do you expect people who joined the force out of economic frustrations to do the job the way it should be done? Until the high level of unemployment in Nigeria can be reduced to a reasonable level, the force would continually be flooded by those who take up the job as a means of livelihood, and not because of their patriotism. The more their salaries are increased, the more corrupt they become. I knew of a time when the police at road blocks used to collect N1 note. When their salary was improved, they stepped up to N5. When Abdusalam took over after Abacha's death, he increased their salary, and the police stepped up to N20 at road blocks. With the last increament on their salary, they stepped up to N50 in some states. Any attemtpt to increase their salary now, they will head for N100. I dont know why I keep having this believe that they would be aiming at N1000 someday. Buttom line is that, the more the government increase their wage, the higher they demand at road blocks. And I don't even see this stopping.

For the Nigerian Police for perform up to expectation, the following should be present.

Other employment opportunities: Rather than sucking our country dry, let our leaders develop our country which in turn could foster lots of employment/good business opportunities. Once people have lots of job opportunities to choose from, many people who joined the force today, might not be in the force. That way, the few people who joined the force, would be those who are really passionate about it. I mean the patriotic Nigerians. Without the right people in the force, the police force will remain the same even if the FG sends all the house owners at VGC away and turn it to police barracks. They will forever remained unsatisfied, and they will never stop the N50 they collect on their road blocks.

[b]If you like, pay Nigeria policeman 1 Million (One Million naira) an hour, he will not stop aiding crime or looking for “egunje”. Bribe is an epidemic with the Nigerian Police men. They are very arrogant and only knows how to gun you down if you refuse to part with money.

You cannot reform Nigeria Policemen at all. That money is a waste. I believe, it  will be diverted to private pockets. Look at the Police Vans bought for them, they only mount road block and be collecting money from taxi, danfo, tipper drivers instead of going after robbers. If you go to Ikorodu road towards Odoguyan Army barracks, you will see them collecting money from danfo, Tipper and taxi drivers on a daily basis, mostly, TIPPER DRIVERS. They pay nothing less than N200.per stop. That is their duty there everyday. Why not a Taskforce drive along that road and check the activities of these men with Gun. Is it not Robbery by men paid with Tax Payer’s Money?

The Vice President should channel that money to the health sector and education. Policemen in Nigeria needs deliverance.[i][/i][/b][font=Lucida Sans Unicode][/font]

My fear about coming back home is the police. You just dont know what they have for you in stock. They ask for a whole bunch of car registration papers, and when u bring em all out. Guess what the next question would be, where and how did u get this one? and thats a big shame on the nigerian police force and the government.

About time!!!!