The Acting Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, says the Nigeria Police Force is getting good support from the Federal Government in addressing the challenges facing the force.
Egbetokun said this at a retreat organised by the Police Service Commission for the Committee of Retired Inspectors-General of Police (CRIGP), held at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Ibadan.
The Acting I-G, who also described the retired I-Gs as custodians of institutional memory, said their guidance is very important and critical to the success of the police force.
He hinted that the force is proposing to set up a Special Intervention Squad to restore the Police Mobile Force back to its original concept.
“You are the custodian of our institutional memory, your guidance is very important and very critical to our success.
“We have taken steps to address the shortage of manpower in the police, but I want to assure you that we are getting good support from the Federal Government to make sure that we increase our yearly recruitment.
“The funding challenge is improving and is going to get better.
“We are proposing to set up a Special Intervention Squad; the whole idea is to restore the Police Mobile Force (PMF) back to its original concept.
“So from the PMF we are proposing that we are going to mobilise already trained officers, retrain them, kit them specially and make them function like the PMF of those days.
“They will not be deployed to guard duties and VIP escort as it is today, but they will be trained, kitted, specially remunerated, housed and be ready for deployment at shortest notice to any crisis zone in Nigeria,” Egbetokun said.
Earlier, in his speech, the Chairman of CRIGP, Aliyu Attah, said the retreat is a platform to harness collective wisdom and expertise to shape the Nigeria Police Force into an enhanced and virile national security architecture.
Aliyu, whose speech was read by the Chairman of Police Service Commission, retired I-G Solomon Arase, said that they have dedicated their youthful lives to uphold the rule of law and ensure public safety.
“As we gather here today, we are presented with a unique opportunity to reflect on our collective journey in the Nigeria Police Force.
“To share experiences and chart a path towards repositioning our committee for even greater impact, relevance and strategic interventions within the ever-evolving and competitive national security landscape.
“The security challenges facing our beloved country have become increasingly complex, diffusive and multifaceted with unprecedented lethality.
“This retreat, undoubtedly, provides us with a platform to harness our collective wisdom and expertise as retired I-Gs.
“By reinvigorating our committee and its role in shaping the present and the future of the Nigeria Police Force towards enhanced and virile national security architecture of Nigeria.
“Our collective experience as retired I-Gs positions us as custodians of institutional memory, strategic insight, practical guidance and survival instincts towards a repositioned police force, for greater efficiency and effectiveness in the performance of its statutory functions,” Aliyu said.
Speaking to journalists after a closed-door meeting with the acting I-G, retired I-Gs Sunday Ehindero and Ogbonna Onovo, said the committee will not be docile.
They pledged their readiness to work with the present acting I-G to have a better police force.
“We shared our experiences and our expectations from him, and the expectations of the society.
“We are all agreed that the time has come when the retired I-Gs will not be docile but will contribute with the present IG for the furtherance and good governance of the police,” Ehindero said.
“We want to reawaken Nigerians to the need for an effective and efficient police force that can deliver.
“We as former I-Gs also let out our experiences to the incumbent telling him the pitfalls where we made mistakes and where we gained the grounds so that we can have a better police force,” Onovo said.
Present at the event were retired I-Gs Mike Okiro, Ibahim Idris and Hafiz Ringin, and also the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Hamzat Adebola, among others.
