…Predicts very hectic 2019
The Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu has called on the federal government to adequately equip the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) to enable it discharge its function of policing the nation effectively.
Oba Akiolu who made this call while playing host to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris who led a team of officers and men of the Nigeria Police on a courtesy call at his palace on Thursday said that the budgetary allocations usually given to the Force were grossly inadequate to run the force.
According to him,”If care is not taken and I pray it doesn’t happen, 2019 is going to be very hectic for us except the government knows what they are doing now. Internal security operation of the country is entirely the duty of the Nigeria Police Force. Provide what is required to do the job and give the Inspector-General of Police free hand”.
He noted that government had to equip the police and other security agencies for them to do their job adding that the Nigerian Army did what they ought to do in order to rid the nation of the menace of Boko Haram insurgents while condemning the West on their rating of the conducts of the Nigerian Army in fighting the scourge.
“Let them give us equipment and assist us to get rid of Boko Haram, it is unislamic, unchristian and untraditional for anybody to be killing anybody in the name of religion. It is not in any holy book and God the almighty Allah abhors killing of human beings. And the Army should know that the police is not their rival but honestly, if the police have half of the money being given to the Army, they will be the best in the world”, he said.
He urged the Inspector-General of Police to be firm and courageous as it is God that gives and takes power warning that if he don’t worth his salt, politicians would mess him up at any time.
He continued,” Don’t tell the government what they want to hear, politicians, they don’t quarrel, they can always disagree, the second day, you see them dancing from this place to that place. I always say it, God will never ever give the leadership of this country to any corrupt person again because Buhari has shown us what to do”.
Oba Akiolu advised the IGP to go round all the police training institutions across the country and improve the condition of the institution as they lack basic amenities like the toilets, accommodations and poor feeding habit.
He however called on Nigerians to volunteer useful and truthful information to the police to enable them perform their duty creditably well and never to assume that the job was for the police alone.
Speaking to journalists on the issues raised by the Oba, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Ibrahim Idris pointed out that a nation gets the police it deserves adding that it was not in the place of the police to kick against the Army taking over the internal security of the country even as he said that he would leave the issue for Nigerians to look into.
On the 2019 general election in the country, IGP Idris disclosed that the Force was working ahead of time by creating more Area Commands so as to bring the Police closer to the people as well as creating more Police Mobile Squadron units for taking care of violent crimes in the various parts of the country.
“We believe that with the support of the National Assembly passing the Police Trust Fund bill, the police will be properly positioned to tackle whatever challenge we are going to have in 2019″, he added.
On the issue of kidnapping, the Police boss emphasized that the police had addressed the issue of kidnapping in Lagos adding that the police paraded 50 kidnappers in the last one week even as they are parading more this week.
He said,” Like I suggested in various fora, what we need in Nigeria to address the issue of kidnapping is to have a law, government creating a special court for kidnapping, that is one, two, limiting the trial period, the trial period for suspects should be shortened so that within one or two months, people are sentenced and I believe, with those changes, because you observed, we have had over one thousand suspects in detention now nationwide on kidnapping. So, if we can have this innovations attached to this issue of kidnapping, I believe that kidnapping is coming to an end soon”.
Earlier, while addressing the Oba, the IGP informed that he was at the palace to pay homage to the Oba, seek his blessing and to appreciate him for all the support he had been giving to the Nigeria Police Force and Lagos State command in particular.
On the IGP’s entourage included the Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar, the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, Mr. Fatai Owoseni and his Ogun State counterpart among other top shots in the Force.
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