Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, has charged Nigeria’s inspector-General of Police, IGP, Alkali Baba Usman, to work towards bridging the existing gap between the Nigerian police and its citizens.
Governor Okowa, who made this known when he received the IGP on a courtesy visit at the Government House, Asaba, pointed out that the continued poor relationship breeds the much talked about lack of trust between the police and the people they are supposed to protect.
Governor Okowa observes that with the IGP’s vast knowledge in policing, having served in different capacities across the country before now, he is in a better position to change the face of the Nigerian police for the better.
The Governor advised the IGP to interact more with various stakeholders in order to bridge the gap and restore the confidence of the people who had developed mixed feelings about the force, noting that community policing could only work better with the cooperation of the citizens.
Lamenting the continued challenges posed by herders/farmers clash, Governor Okowa further explained that if the government with the efforts of concerned individuals and organisations should come together to fund the police to increase its manpower and provide logistics, the security operatives will make an appreciable success
Earlier, the IGP said his mission in Delta State was part of his ongoing familiarisation tour of the police formations in the country to give him first-hand information on the needed things to be done.
According to the IGP, out of the commands visited so far, Delta State has led in terms of manpower and crime prevention.