The Inspector General of Police, IGP Mohammed Adamu on Monday said that a three-day retreat, in line with Nigerian policing vision would enhance effective police service delivery in the country.
Adamu said this at the 2019 Conference and Retreat for Senior Police Officers with the theme: “Repositioning the Force For The Challenges Of Effective Policing In The 21st Century”.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the retreat holding at Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos started on Monday and would end on Wednesday.
The retreat was meant for senior police officers starting from the rank of Commissioner of Police upwards.
According to Adamu, the attendance of President Muhammadu Buhari, represented by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, is a clear statement on the commitment to the re-engineering of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
The IGP said that there was a strong correlation between personnel capacity and organisational performance in the prioritization of security by the Federal Government.
“This fact is evident in the NPF, given the increasingly complex and dynamic nature of crime and risks that we are exposed to, and our obligation to perform our duties within the dictates of the law,” he said.
Adamu said that the inter-mix of these risks and duties required the constant acquisition of professional knowledge by all police personnel, particularly those at strategic management level.
“This is with a view to acquiring the capacity to dissect threats, appreciate complex security and crime situations, and take decisions towards neutralising such threats or resolving identified problems.
“Through constant engagement of strategic managers and consistent training and retraining of personnel of the Force across all ranks.
“A knowledge-driven, rule of law-guided, community-oriented, technology-compliant and intelligence-led police shall be achieved,” he said.
Adamu said that the forum would undertake a wholistic evaluation of the current internal security threats and crime dynamics in the country.
“This is with a view to identifying human capacity requirements for addressing current and emerging threats to our internal security and evolving pathways towards addressing such,” he said.
The IGP said that the retreat would avail officers leverage on the network to be established towards enhancing peer-review towards engendering a broader understanding of their mandate.
He charged police officers to take advantage of this opportunity to enhance their operational capacity and ensure that the purposes of this engagement are achieved.
“The security threats being faced in our country require urgent and well-thought out solutions. Therefore, let us rededicate ourselves to our statutory duties in order to provide security that will place us above criminal elements,” he said.
Adamu re-assured Nigerians of the Force’s determination and clear vision to evolve a new Police Force for the nation and explore all available strategies guaranteeing their security and safety.
Also, the Minister of Police Affairs, Alhaji Mohammed Dangyadi, said the conference was timely and came at a good time in determining the quality of the Force for better service delivery.
Danyadi said the reestablishing of the Ministry of Police Affairs and the signing of the Police Trust Fund into law by the president was a clear testimony of the desire to take the Force to the next level.
“The ministry, under my watch is determined to ensure that the police Force is given state-of-the-art equipment to help in combating crime and criminality.
“It is also our determination to enhance welfare of the police personnel by providing conducive office and accommodation so as to motivate them for optimal efficiency,” he said.
The minister urged the officers to rededicate themselves to their jobs because the country was looking up to them to serve and protect them professionally.
“Our way of life and peaceful coexistence is being threatened by few criminal elements.
“Criminality such as kidnapping, armed banditry, armed robbery, cyber crime, trafficking of illicit drugs are some of the crimes the retreat is expected to proffer solutions to at the end of the day,” he said