Implement Holistic Reforms in Nigerian Police Force – Senate
In line with the Endsars protest and the demands made by concerned youths, the Senate has called on the Federal Government to develop and implement holistic reforms in the Nigerian Police Force.
The call was made, Wednesday by the Chairman of the Joint Committee, Senator Ibrahim Gobir. He noted that if more able-bodied personnel are employed, and state of the art arms and ammunition procured, with constant training, the system will be efficient.
Recall that Joint Committee on National Security and Intelligence; Defence; Police Affairs; Judiciary, Human Rights, and Legal Matters had recommended this during the #EndSARS protests on October 23 and 24, 2020
Gobir has in his presentation, the lawmakers had done their own investigation and discovered that the violence in Calabar metropolis during the protests, that led to the looting and destruction of private and government-owned properties, was “largely spontaneous with no identified goals, leaders, sponsors or financiers”.
“It was a free reign for amorphous groups, gangs, and criminals,” Senator Gobir was quoted as saying in a statement by Senate President Ahmad Lawan’s media aide, Ezrel Tabiowo.
He revealed that Senator Bassey Henshaw, who was a victim of the protest, had appeared before the committee to narrate his ordeal, stressing that it took a miracle to get him, his wife, and daughter out from the mob which vandalized their way into his bedroom.
Gobir who quoted Henshaw said the attacks were intentionally organized by some politicians who perceived them as political enemies.
The joint committee noted that the police had said it has lacked adequate personnel, vehicles, arms, ammunition, and other tactical equipment for effective policing of the Calabar mayhem.
The force had claimed that 106 suspects were arrested, 90 percent of whom were indigenes of Akwa Ibom extraction, including two females.
The lawmakers further recommended that the personnel should be trained regularly in line with international best practices.
It urged the Federal Government to give priority in terms of security to Cross River, considering the peculiarity of the state with a very large landmass.
