By Kingsley Omonobi

ABUJA -  The federal government, Monday,  expressed the need for the Nigeria Police force to change its operational strategy to reflect modern trends in scientific and advancement in crime fighting, even as it noted that the days of engaging in strategies like mass raiding of civilians, arbitrary arrests and detentions were antithetical to democratic norms.

Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo who disclosed this at a one day retreat for officials of the ministry of Police Affairs and the Police High Command in Abuja, noted that new strategies had become non-negotiable because ‘new crimes are evolving with frightening speed due to advancement in technology”.

Policemen

“Criminals are exploiting this development to perpetrate crime. We are now living in a world without borders which is made more accessible by rapid transportation, the internet, mobile phones and satellite communication systems. This means that criminal syndicates are now transnational and require a different partnership approach to resolve”, he said.

“The Nigeria Police force must therefore change its operational strategy to reflect modern trends. Issues like mass raiding of civilians and arbitrary arrest and detentions beyond constitutionally defined limits must be done away with to sustain democratic policing, and the Police force must embrace modern scientific policing to augment its already commendable Community Policing initiative”.

Recalling that “many years of underfunding have left us with a Police force that could not perform its constitutional role effectively, hence the nation is bedeviled by problems of insecurity and violent crimes such as kidnapping, armed robbery and pipeline vandalization among others”, the Vice President said.

“In an attempt to reverse this trend and give Nigerians a sense of security, the present administration initiated the Police Reform Programme, the biggest security sector reform project in the history of Nigeria”.

On human rights, Sambo said, “It is common knowledge that the image of Nigeria Police has suffered so much damage due to poor human rights records and other sundry reasons. This, you will agree with me does not reflect the character of the present administration, which is anchored on the rule of law and respect for human rights

“Similarly, Community Policing is a global practice in line with democratic norms, and as a stakeholder in the international system, Nigeria Police must not lag behind”, he said.

Minister of Police Affairs, Adamu Maina Waziri in his remarks, explained that his ministry organized the retreat with the theme ‘Towards An Enduring Democratic Policing in Nigeria’ because over time, many reasons have coalesced to impede and erode the capacity of the Nigeria Police force to discharge their roles and meet expectations of the Nigeria People.

“While it is legitimate to blame the Police, it is no less legitimate to also find out why these Nigerians in the black and blue uniforms whose actions and inactions impact on our daily lives are in deplorable state”, the minister said.

Emphasizing that among the five components of the Police reform programme, the imaging and community policing are substantially attitudinal, the minister said, “Yet, this image and attitude are ‘sine quo non’ to the effectualization of the Nigeria Police to play its critical role in the sustenance and inculcation of democracy and its values in our dear country”.

He illustrated the importance of the retreat further saying “while INEC is the vehicles to deliver free and fair elections, it is the Nigeria Police that should stand shoulder high and guarantee to the Nigerian voter that his vote counts. While I, as a politician would like to win my election at all cost, it is the Police that will ensure that elections will only be won without any infraction that will undermine the dictum that the vote determines the winner”.