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President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, to reduce the number of policemen attached to dignitaries, and redeploy all policemen withdrawn from that role to regular police duties.
He gave the order on Thursday in Abuja at a meeting with officials of the Ministry of Police Affairs and the Police Service Commission in the Presidential Villa.
The president’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said in a statement that President Buhari also expressed concern over the stagnation of policemen on a rank for many years. He counselled the Police Service Commission to review the current structure of the police, and make recommendations on how the problem can be solved to boost the morale of serving policemen.
Buhari also said that he will not tolerate any irregularities or extortion of money from unemployed Nigerians in the coming recruitment into the police.
He said: “You must ensure that the recruitment process is transparent. Those who will conduct the recruitment must be above board. It should not be heard that they receive gratification or extort money from those who want to enlist in the police”.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Police Affairs, Dr James Obiegbu had, in his briefing of the President, listed inadequate police personnel, dwindling finances and non-rehabilitation of police training schools as some of the challenges facing the police.
The Chairman of the Police Service Commission, Sir Mike Okiro said that the country needed to have more than the 305,579 policemen and women which it has at present for effective policing.
He thanked President Buhari for approving the recruitment of 10,000 additional policemen and women earlier this week.