Police, Prisons Service agree on intelligence sharing

A Nigerian police UN contingent

A Nigerian Police contingent on UN Mission

The Police Command in Nasarawa State and the Nigerian Prison Service (NPS) in the state have agreed to share intelligence on inmates in various prisons across the state.

The agreement was reached on Tuesday in Lafia during a courtesy visit by Alhaji Aliyu Anchor, the new Controller of Prisons in the state, to the Commissioner of Police in the state, Mohammed Kura.

Kura said that synergy between the police and prison officials was critical because in spite of the incarceration of some suspected criminals, they still plan and execute crimes outside the prisons.

“There is need for us —the police, prison and even the judiciary— to be relating and we must be relating well.

“None of these agencies of government can do without the other. I want to plead with the prison authorities to assist the police toward gathering intelligence within the prison,” the commissioner said.

He added that the intelligence gathering and sharing between both security outfits was aimed at curtailing security challenges in the state and having adequate information of security threats before they unfolded.

“We will see it as a great assistance if you give us intelligence information. This is because prison inmates interact with officers there freely because they know that is the bus stop for them.

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“So, that situation frees their mind and some begin to re-strategise. So, in the course of interacting with them you can assist us with intelligence gathering,” Kura said.

Earlier, the new controller of prisons said his visit to the police command was to seek a stronger collaboration and coordination with the police given the fact that both security outfits dealt with security and criminality.

“The purpose of this visit is to find a way to coordinate ourselves because prison, police and judiciary belong to the criminal justice system and there is no way to coordinate this job without knowing ourselves.

“We are doing the same job but in a different manner. Security is our job,” Anchor said.

According to him, effective cooperation between both security outfits would go a long way in strengthening the bond between them and facilitate the process of enforcing justice as stipulated in the Nigerian constitution.

“When you arrest, you take them to court, then the court will now bring them to us. You will come to interrogate them because if you want to wait until you finish investigation, people will accuse you.

“So, you move the suspect to the prison and still come and do your investigation. I assure you that any of the prisons you come to within the command, we will give you all the assistance you need,” Anchor said.

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