#EndSARS: Police needs total reformation not change of name – DG NILDS

The Director General for National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), Prof Abubakar Sulaiman, said Nigeria Police Force needs total reformation rather than cosmetic change of name of a particular unit in the organisation.

Speaking on the occasion of his 55 years birthday in Ilorin, Friday, Prof Abubakar, said the activities of Nigeria Police force goes beyond mere change of name.

He added that there must be frantic reformation and reorientation of the Nigerian Police force.

The birthday ceremony was attended by dignitaries from all walks of life including governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of the Kwara state.

Sulaiman added the protest against SARS across the country portends that “as long as we practice democracy, we must allow people’s will to prevail”. 

Sulaiman who is also a former minister of national planning, noted that Nigeria had gone “beyond the military mentality where people that handle weapons believe that they are at liberty to make use of the weapons the way they feel.

“It suggests that our Police Force needs reorientation. This is a Police Force that had their root back to the Military era, they have their root back to colonial era but with uninterrupted democratic dispensation of 21 years shows that as progressive people, our law enforcement agencies need to be inculcated with the spirit of democracy in their operation. Police Force should be civil, law enforcement agencies should be civil. 

“The army could be uncivil but the Police should be civil. It calls for reorientation, reformation of the Police force. It goes beyond mere cosmetic change of name, there must be frantic reformation and reorientation of the Nigerian Police force.”

Speaking on the problem of insecurity in Nigeria, he emphasised the need for Nigerians to support security agencies with useful information that would assist them in arresting perpetrators of crimes in the country.

“Government has done its own, government is doing its own, security is everybody’s business. My clamour and advice to Nigerians is that we should not see security or insecurity as government business alone. Book Haram reside somewhere, militants reside somewhere and kidnappers reside somewhere. People know them.

“The various Talibans we have in Nigeria, let me use that word, reside somewhere, we must be able to expose them. As long as we are not ready to support the security agencies in exposing all these criminals, insecurity will strive in this country. And I keep on saying it that these security agencies are not God and they only see what they could see within their own limited knowledge unless they use intelligence. 

“So, my prayer and advice to Nigeria people is that we must see security agencies as our people, we must assist them with useful information. Government could budget trillion for them, if people do not support and assist them in terms of useful information and intelligence, we cannot get solution to various situations to various threats we find ourselves.

“Then, the various traditional rulers must be involved, religious leaders, Mallams, clergy must also come in. Our clergymen should support what government is doing, we must see security our business. Holistically, we must all address it. As a matter of fact, we must assist government in addressing insecurity in this country,” he said.

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