Policing: DIG calls for inter-agency synergy

Mr Shuaibu Gambo, the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Department of Administration and Finance, has called for a strong inter-agency synergy for effective policing in the country.

Gambo made the appeal on Wednesday while addressing officers and men of the Nasarawa State Police command as part of his two-day visit to the state.

The DIG, who is supervising the north-central zone, said the visit was at the instance of the Inspector General of Police (IG-P) Ibrahim Idris, to feel the pulse of the officers and men of the command with a view to addressing some of the identified challenges for optimum performance.

“We are working to have a beautiful synergy with other sister agencies in terms of information and intelligence sharing as crime fighting cannot be done by one agency alone,” he said.

He warned officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force against corrupt practices and abuse of human rights, adding the police will not tolerate corruption in whatever form.

He also charged the officers to always carry out their assignment with the highest degree of discipline and civility.

“You must have respect for human right and recognise that even the criminal you are arresting has some rights that must be respected.

“You cannot arrest arbitrarily, detain and demand for money in order to release on bail because bail is free,” he warned.

According to him, the welfare of officers is paramount to the management especially in the area of promotion, housing and healthcare.

He noted that almost every cadre of the police had enjoyed promotion in recent time, assuring that the pending promotion of Inspectors rank would soon be released.

He also said that more area commands would be created across the country to tackle the challenge of stagnation of officers in a particular rank.

The IGP also revealed that the police had started building affordable houses for junior cadre (rank and file) and appealed to the state governments to assist the Police with land for such projects.

He also said a special housing scheme was also being worked out for the officers’ cadre to access through mortgage before their retirement.

Earlier, Mr Abubakar Sadiq-Bello, the state Commissioner of Police, commended the IGP for the visit, saying it is an opportunity to get firsthand information on the achievements and challenges of the command.

Sadiq-Bello enumerated some of the challenges facing the command to include inadequate manpower, lack of befitting office accommodation, lack of communication equipment as well as operational vehicles.