IG launches community security scheme, urges support
From Lawrence Njoku, Alex Olise (Enugu) and Mike Osunde (Benin)
A NEW crime control method that is founded on trust and mutual understanding between security operatives and members of the public began in the country yesterday with the launching of community policing project in Enugu.
The Inspector General (IG) of Police, Mr. Tafa Balogun who led other top officers to the event restated the determination of the force to reduce crime and bring the police closer to the people.
Meanwhile, the Edo State Police Commissioner, Mr. Paul Ochonu, has alleged that some powerful individuals, including top government officials are involved in cult-related offences in the state, making it different for the security operatives to contain the crime.
Launching the community policing in Enugu, Balogun said that the scheme would not only position the force to fight crime, but would ensure the participation of the people in the task of combating the trend.
The IG told the crowd at the Hotel Presidential, Enugu, venue of the event that the community policing would solve the problem of trust existing between the community and the police in combating criminal activities, especially at the grassroots level.
He said: "The community policing is an attempt to bring police to your doorstep, crime wave will reduce and the public will sleep with their eyes closed. Community policing is founded on the principle that in a democratic society, the police are entrusted by their fellow citizens to protect their fundamental liberty, and ensure equity and justice under the law.
"To fulfil that privileged role, the police must be part of, and not apart from, the community they serve. I know that a lot of problems in fighting crimes have been the communication gaps between the community and the police.
"When the opportunity came, we decided to do something about the communication gap and the cornerstone of that fight is community policing. Although this was difficult initially to sell, we got the support of the President, Nigerians and the international community, including the Department For International Development (DFID)."
According to the IG, the police have done a lot of research work and found out that community policing is an internationally accepted security strategy.
He promised that all policemen involved in the project would be adequately trained to ensure the realization of the objective, disclosing that a human rights desk had been created in every division headed by an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP).
Balogun commended the people of Enugu State for their contribution to the reduction of crime rate in the state, assuring that the police would always work in collaboration with the people in the fight against criminals.
Also speaking, Governor Chimaroke Nnamani, described security as everybody's business saying that the restiveness and agitations in the land were all due to poverty brought about by military dictatorship.
"Nigeria Police was a victim of military dictatorship and neglect, and our five years of democracy has exposed all these" the governor said.
He expressed the hope that adequate communication facilities would be provided, police would now be well dressed and mobile, stressing that this would be the hallmark of community policing.
Nnamani praised the IG for restoring dignity and intellectuality to the force.
Earlier in his address, the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Morrison Abe, said that community policing was aimed at improving the services and image of the force, which in recent times, had faced many criticisms from Nigerians.
Abe disclosed that 25 officers of the state command had been trained in Community Policing, while 800 others also benefited from seminars on police-community awareness.
He called on the state government to improve on the partnership with the police to ensure effective policing of communities in the state.
In Edo State, the police chief said that the involvement of top government officials in cultism has made it almost impossible to get to the root of the problem.
Addressing a press conference in his office in Benin on Wednesday, Ochonu said: "No day passes without a robbery being committed and it is not a happy situation.
"Currently, Edo State cannot be said to be peaceful. Robbery and cult-related crimes constitute 90 per cent of crimes in the state because no day passes without a robbery being committed."
At the event, Ochonu paraded 35 suspects, 25 of whom are robbery-related including five students who claimed to be undergraduates of the University of Benin and two secondary school students, who are being held for cult-related offences.
Ochonu decried an alleged attitude of not giving relevant information to the police.
"It is a pity that Nigerians are unwilling to give police information. Now, the number of robbery cases and suspects arrested are unprecedented. We cannot do this alone because crime fighting is a joint venture between the police and the society," he said.
On cultism, he lamented that it used to be students' affair only but now, the highly placed in the society and government officials are involved and their involvement had made the task of investigating cult-related crimes nearly impossible.`
