Mr Usman Baba, the Inspector-General of Police (I-G), has charged Commissioners of Police and other strategic police managers with strengthening their leadership capacity to combat crime.
Baba took the oath of office on Monday in Abuja during a meeting with strategic police managers, including commissioners of police and above.
According to the I-G, the purpose of the meeting was to evaluate the force’s activities in 2021 and identify gaps that hampered service delivery to citizens.
Baba also stated that the meeting’s purpose was to map out strategies for bridging gaps and improving personnel’s professional and operational capacity in 2022.
He noted that 2021 would be a difficult year for the Nigeria Police, with bandits, secessionists, kidnappers, and other organized criminal elements posing significant threats to internal security.
According to him, the challenges were exacerbated by the 2020 #Endsars violence, which weakened the force’s morale and operational base as a result of the massive destruction of police operational assets.
“Despite this reality within the internal security sector, I am glad to observe that all of you, as strategic police commanders, remained resilient and exhibited excellent levels of courage, initiative, sound operational capacity, and loyalty,” he stated.
“This is the spirit that we set out to advance in the policing agenda when I took over as I-G, and I am delighted that you have embraced this new policing mission.”
According to Baba, the force conducted several high-profile special operations in the previous year, resulting in the prevention of several crimes and the neutralization of numerous criminal elements.
According to him, we have also strengthened our ability to deploy intelligence to support police investigative and operational activities, preventing the completion of some major crimes and the arrest of high-profile criminals.
He praised the personnel for their tenacity, patriotism, and exceptional operational performance during Anambra’s gubernatorial election on November 6.
Baba stated that the officers’ conduct during the election had been widely condemned, both locally and internationally, as being responsible for thwarting subversive elements’ attempt to truncate the election.
“While congratulating all members of the force on their modest successes in the previous year, it is important to note that the coming year may be even more difficult.”
“This is due to the fact that it is a year before the country’s general elections.”
“It is expected that the political landscape will be charged in a way that will put our professional will and operational competence to the test.”
“What this means is that, in addition to dealing with traditional crimes, our capacity as the lead agency in internal security management will undoubtedly be stretched to cover the management of threats associated with an active political space in 2022.”
“As we look ahead to 2022, my charge to you is to prepare to strengthen your leadership capacity in dealing with crimes traditionally associated with the end of the year.”
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