From Yakubu Mustapha, Minna
The Deputy Inspector General of Police (Training and Development) and Coordinator for the North-Central Zone, DIG Isyaku Mohammed, has declared that the proposed establishment of state police forces will pose no threat to the federal police structure. Instead, he maintained that state policing is a welcome development designed to strengthen and complement existing community policing frameworks across Nigeria.
DIG Mohammed made the clarification on Wednesday in Minna during a high-profile stakeholders’ meeting on his second day of an official assessment tour of the Niger State Police Command.
Addressing concerns regarding the capability of the force to tackle the nation’s pressing security challenges, the DIG firmly asserted that the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) possesses both the technical capacity and the modern weaponry necessary to dismantle banditry, kidnapping, and other violent crimes.
“The federal police structure is in no way threatened by the establishment of state police.
“We are fully equipped and trained to confront the current security challenges, and any supplementary local structure will only enhance our collective success in securing communities,” he stated.
Acknowledging the grueling conditions faced by frontline officers, the DIG commended the resilience and sacrifice of the Niger State Command personnel. He promised immediate improvements in logistics, specialized training, and welfare packages.
Significantly, the Zonal DIG reassured officers that the police high command is actively working to expand life insurance coverages and is aggressively reviewing the current controversial pension policy to ensure a dignified retirement for service members.
He also called for greater youth mentorship and assured the public of strict confidentiality for all informants.
Earlier in his opening remarks, the Niger State Commissioner of Police, CP Abdullahi Adamu Elleman, praised the DIG’s hand-on assessment.
He urged stakeholders to be brutally honest about the grassroots security challenges bedeviling Niger State, so they could be directly escalated to the Inspector General of Police.
Contributing to the strategy session, the North-Central Vice Chairman of the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC), Alhaji Tanko Dada, revealed that the committee has launched an ambitious five-million-member mobilization drive.
He explained that the PCRC is aggressively deploying a “Neighborhood Watch” strategy to build an unbreakable intelligence-sharing partnership with formal security agencies.
Other stakeholders at the meeting pressured the Federal Government to increase funding for state-of-the-art tactical equipment.
