Police deploying drones, other technologies to tackle insecurity – IGP

The Inspector General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba has disclosed that the Nigeria Police Force is deploying technology in virtually all areas of its operations in tackling new waves of banditry and kidnapping in the country.

IGP Baba said the Marine unit of the Force has been reactivated, crime section digitalised, drones being acquired while the technical intelligent unit is fully functional to cope with new trends in crime and criminality.

The IGP, who is in Akwa Ibom state for the commissioning of the Special Protection Unit base in Onna local government area of the state, disclosed this while addressing officers and men of the state command, Ikot Akpana-Abia,Uyo on Wednesday.

He said the Nigeria Police must work with time and modernity to contain the ever dynamic crime waves, adding that training and retraining has been the cardinal point of the present administration.

According to him, “Crime and criminality is a dynamic thing; it is not something that is static. It moves with time, it moves with modernisation, it moves with technology. Nobody has ever told us that human beings can be stolen; now we see human beings being stolen and taken away and they’re asking you to bring money. That is new crime which is called kidnapping. We know of armed robbery and now we have started hearing of armed banditry.

“So we must work with time modernity and therefore one of our cardinal principles in the job now is to train and retrain ourselves. So training is the cardinal point of our administration. We just started training our 10,000 recruits effective last Monday and we have been able to change the curriculum to reflect modernism.

“Since we came we have gotten a lot, we have just been given 200 brand of Pick Up vehicles that are very strong, by the Police Trust Fund. We have made our Airwings very effective, we are proud of putting six helicopters on the air at one time.

“Our Marine segment has been reactivated; our Technical Intelligent Unit is working. We have acquired drones, we have digitalised our crime section. We have involved a lot of technology in our works,” the IGP said.

In his remarks, the state commissioner of Police, Andrew Amiengheme, lauded the IG for his result-oriented policies which are in line with global best practices.

He said though there had been unprovoked attacks since he assumed office as the 30th commissioner of Police, the measures he initiated by re-jigging the security apparatuses of the state has started yielding fruits.