Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, has described twenty-twenty-one as challenging owing to threats to internal security by the activities of bandits, secessionists and kidnapping syndicates.

He made the comment while speaking at a meeting with senior police officers in Abuja, where he commended the senior officers for their efforts in maintaining law and order.

Baba reminded them to brace for the challenges that twenty-twenty-two may present ahead of the twenty-twenty-three general elections.

The police boss also announced plans for the launch of operational vehicles in twenty-twenty-two to boost the police’s performance to tackle the challenge of insecurity while recruitment of ten thousand police constables is being worked on.

He charged the officers to remain professional in the discharge of their duties while upholding the rights of all persons.

To guard against unprofessionalism among its workforce, he announced that a special operation to monitor the conduct of its men and officers especially during the festive period is in top gear.

REMARKS BY IGP USMAN BABA,
DURING THE MEETING WITH STRATEGIC POLICE
MANAGERS IN THE NIGERIA POLICE FORCE HELD AT THE FORCE
HEADQUARTERS, ABUJA.

The Year 2021 has been particularly challenging to the Despite this reality within the internal security space, I am
delighted to note that all of you, as strategic police commanders,
remained resilient and demonstrated commendable level of courage, initiative, sound operational capacity, and loyalty not only to the Force leadership, but to our dear country, all in an Nigeria Police Force.

These challenges centre largely on the potent threat posed to internal security by the activities of andits, secessionist elements, kidnapping syndicates, and other highly organized criminals.

The challenges were compounded by the Endsars violence of the preceding year which weakened the morale and operational base of the Force following the massive destruction of Police operational assets; and unfortunate deaths
and injuries to Police Officers that attended the violent protests.

I welcome you all to this End of the Year Conference of Strategic Police Managers.

The purpose of our engagement at this point of the Year is primarily to evaluate our activities within the outgoing Year, identify gaps that could have militated against our common goal for optimal service delivery to citizens of this country, and advance pathways to bridging those gaps towards enhancing our professional and operational capacity as we approach the New Year.

This is the spirit that we set out to advance in the policing agenda which I laid out following my assumption of duty as Inspector General of Police and I am delighted that you have keyed into this our new policing Mission.

In consequence, aside our concerted effort to stabilize the internal security order, particularly in the South East region where the country was faced with secessionist campaigns by the Indigenous People of Biafra and Eastern Security Network, we have undertaken several high-profile special operations leading to the prevention of several crimes and neutralization of numerous criminal elements.

We have also deepened our capacity to deploy intelligence to support police investigative and operational activities. This has aided us in preventing the perfection of some major crimes and the arrest of high-profile criminals.

Even more significant, is the professionalism and effective operational Action Plan of the Nigeria Police during the recently concluded gubernatorial elections in Anambra State.

The resilience, patriotism, and exceptional operational performance displayed by police personnel deployed for the election security operation have been widely adjudged, both locally and internationally, as being responsible for frustrating the attempt by subversive elements to manifest their threats to truncate our democracy by preventing the successful conduct of the election.

Within the year, we also worked closely with the Police Trust Fund (PTF) towards procuring critical assets that will enhance our operational capacity. In this regard, I am elated to note that the Trust Fund and the Ministry of Police Affairs are already acquiring and delivering new fleet of purpose-built operational vehicles to the Nigeria Police.

These critical operational assets will soon be launched and deployed to all Commands and Formations, as well as our Special Operational and Tactical Units across the country.

Additionally, we successfully re-energised our working relationship with the Police Service Commission, leading to the smooth and near completion of the 2020 recruitment of ten thousand (10,000) Police Constables in the Force, and the commencement of the 2021 phase of the exercise.

Away from the operational angle, in order to advance our vision to modernize policing in the country, we have developed a model police station template which is designed to modernize Police Stations across the country.
The construction of this model police stations has commenced in some States of the Federation, and it will soon be replicated in a Phased implementation process across the country.

Other major strides of the Force within Year 2021 include the successful galvanization of international support leading to the election of AIG Garba Baba Umar as the Vice President (Africa) of INTERPOL during the recently concluded 89th Session of INTERPOL General Assembly held in Istanbul, Turkey.

We also succeeded in securing the approval of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) for the appointment of a Nigeria Police Officer as the Nigerian Desk Officer of the international Association for purpose of coordinating all activities of the Body in Nigeria.

This followed a strong case which I advanced in that direction during the International Police Summit in South Korea.

While appreciating all members of the Force for these modest successes within the outgoing Year, it is imperative to note that, the upcoming Year could even be more challenging.

This is because it is a year preceding the general elections in the country and hence, it is anticipated that the political landscape will be charged in a manner that will further test our professional will and operational competence.

What this translates is that we will not only be dealing with traditional crimes, our capacity as the lead Agency in internal Security management will no doubt be stretched to cover the management of threats that will be associated with an active political space in Year 2022.

Having reviewed this much, my charge to you as we project into Year 2022 are as follows:
Be prepared to strengthen your leadership capacity in dealing with crimes customarily associated with the end of the year.

I acknowledge in this regard, that some Commands have already forwarded their Operational Action Plans.

You should brace up to the anticipated internal security challenges that the Year 2022 will, undoubtedly, present.

Let me at this juncture, once again remind you that my policing vision is built on the virtues of professionalism, and respect for rule of law and citizens’ rights. Therefore, you should continue to provide strategic leadership that will remain sensitive to issues of rights violations, and excessive and unjustifiable use of authority.

In furtherance to this, I charge you to strengthen your supervisory actions in ensuring that personnel under your command do not conduct themselves in a manner that will deepen the trust gap between the citizens and the Police.

In this regard, following persistent reports of professional infractions by some police personnel in various commands across the country, I have directed the Monitoring Unit, X-Squad, and Force Provost Marshal to jointly commence a special operation across the country with a view to monitoring police conducts, especially during this festive season, and enforcing professional standards as citizens transit in and around the country.

This operation would be well-coordinated, and any personnel caught involving himself or herself in any unethical acts will be firmly dealt with. If such misconducts resulted from supervisory negligence, the line supervisors could also be held vicariously liable and dealt with.

As often said to be forewarned is to be forearmed’. Accordingly, you are enjoined to make this a subject of general lecture to all police personnel in your commands.

I wish to conclude this remark by re-assuring all citizens of the unwavering determination of the Nigeria Police to ensure a peaceful Christmas and New Year festivities. We, however, cannot achieve this goal all alone. It is only by working in partnership that we can defeat the criminals who are our common enemies
that are bent on altering our values for communal peace and security.

I, therefore, solicit the understanding and continued support of all Nigerians, particularly, in the area of volunteering critical pieces of criminal information which are vital to our mission of securing the public space in the most pro-active manner at this time of the year and beyond.

On this note, I welcome you all to this end of the year Conference and I use this opportunity to heartily wish you and your loved ones a happy Christmas and prosperous New Year ahead.

May the New Year bring peace and security to our beloved nation and may all personnel of the Nigeria Police Force and their families continue to enjoy God’s favour as we rededicate ourselves to the service of our Fatherland.

I thank you all for your attention.