By Chizoba Ogbeche Abuja
Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, has said that “Nigeria does not yet have the political maturity for state police.” Instead, the country should improve funding for the agency under the current arrangement, Idris said this yesterday in Abuja at a meeting with the Nigeria Governors’ Forum. He said he was not unaware of the agitations by some groups for the creation of state police, but argued that the federal police arrangement still remains the best. “I sincerely believe that the Federal Police is still the best for the country and with improved funding the challenges of crime will be addressed.
“Th ose agitating for state police should consider the level of our political maturity,” he said, according to a statement by police spokesman, Jimoh Moshood. He said the meeting was aimed at seeking the support of the Forum for the passage of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund bill now before the National Assembly. Idris noted that the Nigeria Police were one of the “least paid” security organisations in the world in spite of operating under the UN ratio of 1:400. He added that with the current ratio of 1: 602 the Nigeria Police was operating far below the United Nation’s ratio. “About 10,000 police offi cers have been recruited recently to fi ll the gap but this is still a far cry.
“To meet up with the UN ratio of 1:400, the Nigeria police require additional 155,000 Police Offi cers for the next fi ve years.” He said a request to recruit 31,000 policemen had been sent to President Muhammadu Buhari for approval. Idris said the current Police Management was making eff orts to establish structures that would bridge the communication gap between the Police and members of the public. Idris said one of such structures included the establishment of the Nigeria Police Broadcasting Service (NPBS). Chairman of the Forum, Governor Abdul’Aziz Yari of Zamfara state, who assured the police boss the support of the Forum, said security was everybody’s business.
