Inspector-General of Police, Ag. IGP Suleiman Abba, has ordered a thorough check and audit of Police armouries nationwide. This, according to Force Public Relations Officer, Ag. Cp Emmanuel C. S. Ojukwu, is part of measures to strengthen accountability of the stock of weaponry of the Nigeria Police Force.

“The exercise, which has already commenced, will cover all Police Commands, Formations, Stations and Units across the country. This measure will also enable the Force to review the current state of arms and ammunition in stock at various Police armouries,” Ojukwu said in a statement issued yesterday in Abuja.

The Force Spokesman in a another statement announced that Abba yesterday set up the “Nigeria Police Committee on Prevention and Management of Communal Clashes” in his resolve to bring to an end, the pervasive communal clashes that have plagued different parts of the nation. The FPRO said the Ag IGP made the announcement during a working visit to Kaduna State yesterday.

According to him, the Committee is co-chaired by four Assistant Inspectors General of Police and has its terms of reference among others as follows:

i. To encourage and facilitate dialogue among warring parties.

ii. Conduct mediation meetings with aggrieved parties with a view to peacefully resolving declared differences.

iii. Development and application of early warning mechanisms and systems of threats of communal clashes

iv. Mediation and application of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) services to avert conciliate and or resolve observed/reported communal disputes before they escalate.

Ojukwu disclosed that the committee has 12 other members drawn from the six geo-political zones of the country.

•Photo shows Ag. IGP Suleiman Abba.