SECURITY ALERT WITH JIDE

Checkpoints will never return to Nigerian roads. Acting IGP restates commitment to police reforms.

The Acting Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, has reiterated that police checkpoints would never return to Nigerian roads.
Abubakar, who was on his first official visit to Lagos, said arrangements had been made for the purchase of additional 300 vehicles to beef up police patrol across the country.
“They (police checkpoints) are damaging our reputation. Whatever is bad will go. I will ensure qualitative service, zero tolerance for corruption,” he said.
Police checkpoints had become too many on roads and highways, and had degenerated into a means of extorting money from the public.
But since his appointment in January 2012, Abubakar embarked on a campaign to reform the police force.
He banned police checkpoints across the country and withdrew police escorts from wealthy citizens and companies.
He, however, added that police roadblocks would only be allowed when his officers chase after criminals, but should swiftly be dismantled afterwards.
Reacting to the spate of violence in the country, Abubakar described sound intelligence service as key to curbing the menace.
Improving Intelligence service
He added that the police were currently training “50,000 police officers in the area of intelligence policing and crime detection.”
Abubakar also promised to lay more emphasis on the training and retraining of police officers to ensure dignity and efficiency.
Also to encourage diligence in service, he said he would agitate for improved wages for police officers because "the monthly salary of a police constable should be at least N50,000."
On the dreaded Boko Haram, the police chief restated police resolve to tackle the challenges of terrorism in the country.
However, he said that the police would also be counting on citizens' support "to fish out criminals in their midst."
"We cannot do this alone and we need the co-operation of all well-meaning Nigerians to fight crime and insecurity in the country," Abubakar added.
In his reaction, Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos suggested that more attention should be paid to minor social vices.
According to him, taking care of minor social vices would stem their escalation into violent crimes.
“We must, therefore, go back to enforcing compliance to traffic rules, prosecuting substance abuse, abuse of alcohol and others, because it is from these small ones that the big and violent ones develop,” he said.