The acting Inspector General of Police, Sir Mike Mbama Okiro yesterday unfolded his eight-point programme of action to enhance efficient service delivery by the force. Among the programmes is the establishment of 12 anti-corruption teams in the six geographical zones. The teams, he said would be provided with GSM numbers which will be made public to enable them receive complaints from members of the public.
In his maiden address to senior police officers in Abuja, Okiro said the new operational guidelines were to assist them in the prevention and control of crime.
He listed the programmes as transparency, war on corruption, crime data upgrade, training, police public relations, human rights and community policing.
While vowing to rid the police organization of grafts within its ranks, he ssaid: “All complaints against the Police bordering on extortion whether along the highways or at Police Stations should be reported via the GSM lines. Promote action would be taken to address the problem.
The new Police boss issued a stern warning to members of the public who give bribe to policemen stressing that henceforth both the giver and the receiver will face the same music.
He also warned of the eradication of road blocks with immediate effect and that the Police is ready to confront the menace of MASSOB elements in the South-East geopolitical zone as well as pursue positive strategies in line with the policy and focus of government in the resolution of the problem of the militants in the Niger Delta.
Okiro in his maiden address to senior officers and the press on assumption of duty at the Louis Edet House, stressed that punishing just the policeman it has been discovered is just scratching the surface hence both parties would face the full rot of the law.
“As the saying goes, it takes two to tango. Any person who offers bribe to the Police in an effort to evade justice would also be arrested and prosecuted. Members of the public are therefore advised to desist from offering bribe to Policemen. The fight against corruption will be a pre-occupation of this administration”.
Okiro outlined eight areas designed to kickstart the march towards a better Police service delivery. They include transparency/accountability, war on corruption/crime, crime prevention, intelligence/crime database upgrade, training, police public image/public relations, human rights and community policing.
The new IG promised that the Police will vigorously intensify the war against all criminal elements in our midst as an agency charged with the responsibility for combating crime and threats to law and order.
“Crime prevention is a fundamental responsibility of the Police. No efforts would be spared to ensure a crime free Nigerian society. This war will be total and will go down to very facet of the society. I am sounding the trumpet now, that every Policeman must be prepared to gird his loins and take up arms to fight crime and criminal elements in the society. New operational strategies will be introduced to fight crime”.
He disclosed that his administration would build and upgrade the capacity of the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) as well as the Criminal Intelligence Bureau (CIB) to enhance the functions to be able to take-up the challenges of combating crime through intelligence gathering. “No effort would be spared to acquire and provide the necessary tools needed for them to meet the challenge. In the same vein, we will intensify efforts at upgrading the criminal record database by empowering the Police Planning and Research Department. A synergy will also be fashioned out with other security agencies with proper networking to allow for assessing of criminal records from their retrieval systems. The challenges of the modern information age are quite enormous and demand such inter-service cooperation and sharing of information on crime and criminal activities. This I feel is absolutely necessary for an effective and qualitative performance in order to fulfil the critical essence of crime prevention and detection”.
Okiro admitted that the police public image was now at a low ebb, stressing that some of the faults are self inflicted by the activities of some policemen. “Some of the faults are self inflicted by the activities of some of us. Others are as a result of factors beyond the police control. Some are as a result of acts of incivility of members of the public, overbearing tendencies such as abuse of human rights, indiscretion and drunkenness in public places which results in disorderly conducts, being unkempt in person and accoutrements etc”, he said.
The IG added that every police officer was a key player in the image making business. He said the effort will not only be sustained, it must be improved upon in this new dispensation by increasing the synergy with the Police Community relation Committees as well as the government and private media organizations. He said the Police Public Relations Department would be professionalized to give fillip to the policy direction and in pursuance of best professional practice. “I intend to post officers with public relations bias as public relations officers. Posting of officers to states Police Public Relations Department would be effected by the Force PRO’s office.
On human rights, he said under democratic dispensation there will be no room for arbitrariness, insisting law and law alone must be the guiding principles when acting in furtherance of its statutory duties.
On community police, he decried the crime was still high and to give further bite to police collective efforts at crime prevention, the pursuit of community policing would be further re-invigorated and sustained. “The fact is quite clear that it is no longer fashionable, in any efficient and effective policing system to rely only on reported incidents as a means of preventing crime. Police/Public synergy in this area is very important. Therefore the involvement of communities in Police crime prevention efforts would be intensified”, he vowed.
Okiro said road blocks represent everything evil in the Police hence it’s been abolished with immediate effect. “They are a bastion of corruption and other negative vices associated with the Police. It is one of the areas that Police has generated so much bad image because of some of the unethical practices that characterize the men posted to man such beats. My administration will encourage the erection of more observation posts on our highways to be completed by effective motorized patrols. The Police would therefore appreciate every assistance from publics-spirited individuals and organizations in this regard.
The IG said the current force Orders are outdated and long overdue for amendment and are not in tandem with the existing realities. He promised that a machinery will be put in place soon to have the orders reviewed as important working guidelines for the Police Force.
He stressed that the Police reforms is an ongoing progress while the welfare/accommodation will be the cardinal policy programme of his administration. “The implementation of the recent salary review will be pursued with vigour. Similarly, more barracks will be constructed and there will be an increase in the number of welfare buses to assist Police personnel from their places of abode to work and back.
“It is a well known fact that the force at present is seriously underfunded in spite of the myriad of problems still confronting it, especially in the area of violent crime, housing etc. however, strategic, concerted and organized efforts to address these problems would be vigorously pursued in consultation with government to ensure that we call all heave a big sigh of relief”, he said.
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