THE House of Representatives’ Committee on Police Affairs has summoned Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, and Ahmed Idris, Accountant-General of the Federation, over the Federal Government’s failure to implement the 20% salary increase for officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force.
Mr. Ekpo Nta, Chairman of the National Salaries, Incomes, and Wages Commission, and Ben Akabueze, Director-General of the Budget Office, will also testify before the committee.
During a public hearing on three bills in Abuja on Tuesday, the committee’s chairman, Bello Kumo, asked the committee’s clerk to write those invited on the issue.
The legislation are titled, ‘A Bill for an Act to Amend the Nigeria Police Act 2020 to Regulate the Powers of the Police to Promote Effective Collaboration between Police and Other Security Agencies and to Provide for the Operational Framework for Community Policing in Nigeria; A Bill for an Act to Amend the Firearms Act Cap F28, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 to Increase Fines, Provide for Strict Prison Terms and Licencing Fees,’; and ‘A Bill for an Act to Provide for the Establishment of the Nigeria Police Intelligence Institute, Share, in Kwara State.’
Kumo noted that a meeting with government authorities was necessary to determine why the decision to increase police salary had yet to be implemented.
The congressman also suggested that the police be exempt from the envelope budgeting system.
While stating that the difficulties plaguing the police pension system must be addressed, he stated that it is critical to have a police force that is motivated to carry out its constitutional duties, especially in light of the country’s mounting security concerns and the upcoming general elections.
Kumo said, “It is so pathetic that today in the country, hoodlums and criminals are truly about to take over the entire security architecture of this country. It is not news and it is not something that is not in the public domain. The attack on the airport, the attack on our rail; all these are attributed to lack of synergy and intelligence sharing by security agencies.”
In his presentation, the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, stated that the National Assembly’s current initiative to amend the Police Act 2020, the Firearms Act, and the proposed establishment of a Nigeria Police Intelligence Institute would deepen police reform and reposition the police for better performance.
Baba, on the other hand, expressed disappointment that the Nigeria Police Force has never had a training institution with the legal authority to drive the Force’s capacity development process at both the operational and strategic levels since its formation.
Baba, who was represented by Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Sanusi Lemu, said, “Policing all over the world is an intelligence-driven enterprise. Unfortunately, though the Nigeria Police Force is recognised as the lead agency in internal security, we are yet to nearly after 180 years of existence have a training institution with the requisite legal status that can drive the capacity development process of the force at both the operational and strategic levels.
“This gap is even more impactful considering the current security realities in the country. This informed the establishment of the Police Intelligence Institute, Share. Unfortunately, despite the existence of the physical structures, the institution is yet to commence academic activities due largely to the absence of the requisite legal framework.
“The bill for an Act to establish the Nigeria Police Intelligence Institute is, therefore, critical to the take off of this initiative as it would give legal backing to the reform agenda of the Police, particularly in relation to the entrenchment of the professional culture of intelligence-led policing and the development of the capacity of the officers of the Force and other sister agencies.”
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