By Ado Hassan, Sokoto
THE Minister for Police Affairs, Alhaji Muhammadu Maigari Dingyadi on Saturday said an effective and implementable blue print is underway to strengthen the capacity of the Nigeria police in combating crime across the country.
He expressed concerns against armed banditry activities currently dwarfing the peace and security in parts of the northwest and Nigeria just as the Minister assured of working round the clock to mitigate the trend through responsive and strategic policing.
Dingyadi made the disclosure in Sokoto while granting audience to newsmen at his private residence said to this end, the ministry has began the process of recruiting more police personnel” in fact, we are recruiting 10,000 and the exercise will be a continuous one inorder to reduce the proportional gap as well meet the world stand.”
The Minister explained that it was time the force was given priority for effective performance, stressing that ” we will ensure they are equipped and given the required training inorder to compete favourably with their counterparts across the globe.
” The re-establishment of the Ministry for Police Affairs is apt and well thought of by President Buhari,” he noted.
Dingyadi who was in Sokoto for the first time since he assumed office said the ministry was focused to revive and strengthen effective policing even as he specifically observed that community policing would further assist in combating banditry and other crimes in localities across the country.
” With effective community policing, the country will surely enjoy peace, security and prosperity in many spheres of our socio- economic endeavours.”
He further disclosed that the ministry would take motivation as key and necessary tool to stimulate responsive performance of the force.
” We will improve on that by ensuring adequate funding so that we can achieve our target of having an effective community policing thus will further reduce agitations for state police.
” When the police is adequately taken care of in terms of welfare, motivation and logistics among other support aids, miscellaneous offences like money exchanging hands on highways would be a thing of the past”, he assured.
The Minister, however, called on he public to see the police as friend and not enemies by extending support to them through giving information and intelligence in their bid to combating crime and criminal activities in he country.
