Police to recruit 60,000 personnel as Kwara governor raises alarm


The Nigeria Police Force is to recruit 60,000 personnel within the next six years, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Usman Baba announced in Iloriin Wednesday.
As a start, the IGP said 20,000 police personnel will be recruited between now and end of 2021 to make up for the 10,000 personnel that ought to have been recruited in 2020 following the approval of President Muhammedu Buhari. 
IGP Baba said this in Ilorin, during his working visit to the Kwara state command of the force.
“President Muhammadu Buhari has given approval for us to recruit 10,000 police personnel every year for six years. We have started but we have not done for 2020.
“So we are doing for 2020 and 2021 between now and the end of the year. Their training is for six months. Latest by the end of 2021 our strength is expected to increase by 20,000 by 2022,” he said.
On the war against violence crimes in the country, Baba said that “police is not fighting the war against banditry and other crimes alone. All other security agencies in synergy are fighting the bandits including the military which is leading the war and we are winning.”
The state police commissioner Emienbo Assayomo said thecommand is understaffed with a just about 3,500 police officers andmen.
“Kwara state police command has establishment strength of 8,000, but today, the personnel strength is less than 3,500.The command as at present has no serviceable armoured personnel carriers (APCs), because the two we have are still undergoing repairs in Sagamu, Ogun state.
“The state has its fair share of security challenges like kidnapping, herdsmen/farmers clashes, cultism, boundary disputes, communal clashes, migration of people from the crisis- ridden states to Kwara state, the state has become crime-prone.
“The North Senatorial district has an international border with Republic of Benin in Baruten local government area which makes the area vulnerable to cross boundary crimes like Smuggling and Human trafficking. Kaiama Local government area of the state has a large ungoverned forest reserve that stretches to Borgu local government area of Niger State, which also makes the place a bandit rendezvous,” he said.
Governor AbdulRazaq’s alram 
While receiving the IGP and his team at the Government House, governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq  called for increased presence of policem.
“Our challenges are enormous. Being a relatively safe state, security agencies tend to be comfortable with Kwara and that explains why they often take out forces from Kwara to bolster security elsewhere. For example, the Army has taken out most of their men to Northeast and we are making efforts to get them back. For the police, our need requirement is about 8,000-10,000 men but we have only about 3,000 now. Many officers of the two mobile squadrons here have been moved out. I am saying this because we definitely need more men on ground here,” AbdulRazaq said when he received the Inspector General of Police Usman Alkali Baba at the presidential lodge in Ilorin.
“The recent ban on grazing by Southern Governors and some security issues in our neighbouring states have resulted in influx of internally displaced persons to Kwara. In many parts of some of our villages, the communities are outnumbered by those that are coming in. This is a state of harmony and people are welcome but this (influx) is clearly overstretching the manpower of the Nigeria Police which is the primary agency for internal security. From Kwara North to Kwara South, it is an enormous task for them, so we definitely need and seek more hands.”
AbdulRazaq also called for improved collaboration among security agencies to sustain relative peace in the state with the traditional rulers equally playing vital roles in strengthening security architecture.
“There is no chance for criminalities in the state because of the nature of security architecture in the state. We also involve and encourage our traditional rulers to work with the security agencies by providing actionable intelligence for use,” he said.
“We thank the Police authorities for the Police School in Ballah and the Intelligence School in Share. In fact, we had to put a transformer there few months ago to make sure we get the place working. But we are saddened by the relocation of Police Public Relations School that was here in Ilorin before. We hope you will look into that again and return it.”
AbdulRazaq commended the police and other security agencies for making the state relatively safe for economic activities.
The IGP on his part said he was in the state to appreciate and boost the morales of officers and men of the command.
“I am here on a one-day visit it to appreciate and give words of encouragement to our officers and men in Kwara, as well as tell them what my administration has come to do,” he said.
“The government of President Muhammadu Buhari is doing its best efforts to meet our needs. The police reform is also being pursued. Our pension, which is one of the bane of retired police officers, is also being looked at. We have one of our most important institutions in Kwara which is our intelligence school which ought to have taken up since in Share (Ifelodun local government). My mission is to get it take off immediately.”
Alkali said his administration is adopting in

telligence gathering and ICT to check crimes and criminalities in the country. .
“I have a mission and vision of policing through intelligence and proactive means of policing. Policing is key, ICT is key and training is key. With the three, you can sit down and police the whole state,” he said. 

“It is our intention to do manpower development in the art of intelligence gathering so that we will be able to police the country not manually but through e-policing. We can do a lot with proactive policing instead of being reactive. We are asking for more support from your administration to ensure that the school take off.

“We are ready and willing under this administration to make the condition of service more conducive for our officers and men to better serve the people.

The IGP was accompanied on the visit by AIG Zone 8, Ede Ayuba;AIG Intelligence Abu Sanni; Kwara CP Emienbo Assayomo; and Force Public Relations Officer Frank Mba.

Photo captionL-R: Special Adviser on Special Duties Alhaji Yinka Aluko; AIG Habu Sani; Special Adviser on Security Brig General Saliu Tunde Bello (rtd); IGP Alkali Baba Usman; Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq; AIG Ede Ayuba; Commissioner of Police Amienbo Tuesday; and Senior Special Assistant on Security Alhaji Muyideen Aliyu; during a courtesy visit by the Inspector General of Police to Government House, Ilorin, on Wednesday.