By Asile Emmanuel, Jos
The Inspector General of Police IGP Solomon Arase has disclosed that between January 2014 to December 2015, 278 police officers paid the supreme sacrifice in the discharge of their statutory mandate in relation to enhancement of community peace and security in the country.
According to him, 194 others sustained various degree of injuries while between January to April 2016 72 police officers lost their lives even as he said 78 others were injured in the line of internal security duties.
He also noted that cases of killing of police personnel have increased since 2009 due to terrorist attacks by Boko Haram.
The IGP made the disclosure in Jos while speaking on the topic,” Police-public partnership in prevention and control of violent crimes and conflicts in Nigeria organised by the Advancement Office of the University of Jos, Plateau State.
He added that in order to perform its function effectively of preventing and controlling crimes, the Police require diverse skills. noting that their work has became more difficult in societies like Nigeria where there is mutual distrust between the Police and the public.
He highlighted some of the factors that undermine effective partnership between the citizens and the police to include the circumstance in which the police emerged in the country, inability of the country to introduce required reforms for the reorientation of the inherited police force in a manner that will integrate both the police and the community and lack of required resources and skills to ensure the efficiency of the police.
Other factors are widespread disrespect for the law by the citizens across all the sectors and strata of the society, adding that attempt to re-enforce the law is often resisted by a significant proportion of the population who resent support for law, authority and police in Nigeria.
Arase also noted that policing in Nigeria is particularly difficult because of several inadequacies as scant logistics and resources ,especially transportation, telecommunication, arms and ammunition, accommodation for police services, inadequate personnel with training, skill and irritation required for policing and country with complex security challenges and inadequate resources for effective law enforcement, intelligence gathering, criminal and investigation and prosecution.
The Police boss further added that lack of appropriate police stations, office, facilities and accommodation, lack of modern forensic laboratory and other technological aid to law enforcement agent, inappropriate use of fire arms and ammunition, absence of reliable and comprehensive criminal data base and poor condition of service, including low enumeration and pension and benefits among others.
Arase pointed out that the management team under his watch has introduced several initiatives directed at promoting police community partnership to drives intelligence led policing and also bridge the gap between the public and the police
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