The Community Policing Partners (COMPPART) Foundation for Justice and Peace Building has called on the Presidency and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum to stop fooling Nigerians on the concept of community policing as being proposed currently and seek expert advice on the concept if the security of lives and properties of the citizens matters to them.
The Executive Director, COMPPART Foundation for Justice and Peace Building, Saviour Akpan Esq. who made this call in a statement in Akwa Ibom State on Tuesday stated that he had been following the trend of event around the concept of community policing in line with the Nigeria government quest to combat insecurity in the country.
Akpan pointed out that as an advocate for community policing in Nigeria for over twenty years, he found it extremely difficult to remain silent while Nigerians were being made to believe the politicization of security by the political class, the Presidency and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum inclusive to mean Community Policing.
He described as unfortunate a situation where Nigeria having recognized community policing as the only solution to all forms of insecurities in the country whether it is operating a federal or state police structure failed to follow the right path to it by engaging practitioners for a long term implementation of the concept.
He added,” Very unfortunate too, that despite this, the government of Nigeria have chosen to be dishonest about the concept of community policing by making it looked as if it is a department within any security organization thereby trying to use it as a tool to create jobs rather than a tool to create the enabling environment for jobs to thrive in.
“It is worthy of note here that community policing as a philosophical and pragmatic concept for crime prevention and control that makes the community an active role player in the determination of their policing priorities is NOT, CANNOT and WOULD NOT be a department in any security organization no matter how well trained let alone having any one size fit all model that can be replicate uniformly across one village let alone the entire nation.
“Consequently I am calling on the government of Nigeria especially the Presidency and the Nigeria Governor’s Forum to stop fooling Nigerians on the concept of community policing and look for expert advice on what to do and how to do it sincerely and honestly if the security of lives and properties of the citizens matters to them and which the only solution is community policing.”
Akpan further observed that the plan to recruit members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and N-Power beneficiaries for community policing as published in the media recently was a clear case of ignorance on the part of the proponent of such approach on what community policing was and therefore should be shelved.
“Going forward, government should seek and meet with experts who know much about community policing and the best way to go about it before rolling out drums for Nigerians to dance”, he added.
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