By Christiana Ekpa
The House of Representatives on Thursday called on the Federal Government to address the deplorable living condition of officers of the Nigerian Police Force just as it implored the government to seek ways of ensuring immediate auctioning of the Police barracks across the country.
The House resolution followed the adoption of a motion moved by Hon. Murphy Osaro Omoruyi on the floor of the House
Debating the motion, Omoruyi noted that in September 2020, the Nigerian National Assembly passed the Police Reform Bill 2020, which was signed into law by the former Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari on September 16, 2020 and one of its core issues was to address the living conditions of our nation’s gallant police officers;
The lawmaker also noted that the problem of adequate and dignified accommodation for police officers persists and has so far outlived all previous measures.
He noted that for example, between 2019 – 2022 over 5 billion Naira was spent by the Federal Government on barracks renovations.
According to him, despite all efforts, barracks continue to fail to meet basic needs in their current state of disrepair and lack of maintenance;
He said: “aware that there has been robust national debate and calls for more community oriented policing strategies and having officers of the Nigeria Police Force living amongst the general population, rather than in their secluded barracks will significantly satisfy these calls and enhance public safety”.
