A human rights, good governance and social justice advocacy group, the Youth Advocates For Peace Justice And Empowerment Network (YAPJEN), has called on the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government and the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, to take urgent steps and adopt stringent measures to redeem the image of the Nigeria Police Force and restore the confidence of the citizens in the force.

The group’s Executive Director, Amb. Timothy Nwachukwu, advocated that regular training programmes should be organised to enhance professionalism and productivity of the Nigeria police in the critical areas of investigation, intelligence gathering, guard duties, surveillance/conflict resolution and management, prevention of cases.

Amb Nwachukwu, a United Nations former diplomat, while recently addressing a cross section of activists in Awka the Anambra State capital showered encomiums on the State Commissioner of Police, Mustapha Danduara, for the recent strides of the state Command which included the recent apprehension of the killers of an undergraduate of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka who was gruesomely and senselessly murdered and her body dropped at Government quarters Awka, and the arrest of Cultist and criminals rampaging within the state.

The YAPJEN Executive Director however identified corrupt practices as the bane of effective policing in Nigeria.

He stated that policing in Nigeria has been bedevilled by a culture of corruption and lack of accountability as some police officers engage in various forms of extortion of money from the public at several check point while some citizens are made to part with their hard earned resources at ATM points thus leaving their victims and helpless citizens losing hope in the police whose primary duty is to secure its citizens.

The “Peoples Advocate”, as he is widely known, pointed out that insufficient funding by the government has impeded the performance of the security agency.

He stated that unknown to many Nigerians, most police officers buy the cloth materials for their uniforms and sew them with their personal money, buy their shoes, buy recharge cards to make calls on cases.

He stated that the only thing the Nigeria Police officers don’t buy for themselves is perhaps their guns and bullets as most times even the guns are fastened around their shoulders with whatever ropes they can hands upon and therefore called on the Federal Government to increase its budgetary allocation to the police force.

Amb Nwachukwu charged the leadership of the Nigeria Police to intensify its partnership with civil society organisations in holding seminars, symposia, workshops and conferences aimed at changing the minds of its personnel on corruption as to enhance their integrity.

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