Inspector-general of police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, has blamed the security threat in the country on the pervasive culture of corruption and impunity in the governance structure.
Egbetokun, who stated this in the first Distinguished Personality Lecture of the TETFUND Centre of Excellence in Multidisciplinary Studies, University of Ibadan, with the theme: “The Nigeria Police Force and the Management Internal Security’’, lamented that lives and properties had been lost to the internal security threat across the six geo-political zones of the country.
He identified factors affecting the socio-economic growth of the country including the activities of Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Boko Haram, among others.
He called on the Nigerian government to take decisive action to combat corruption and impunity within the NPF.
Egbetokun noted that Nigerian security had undergone significant development recently, and the situation had improved tremendously across the country.
The police chief said despite numerous challenges faced by the Nigeria Police Force in managing internal security during crises, there have been notable achievements that demonstrate their potential and resilience.
He disclosed that the NPF would soon establish a full drone system to tackle the nation’s security challenges adequately.
According to him, although the force already had a drone, it would now establish a full drone system to capture everywhere in Nigeria from its headquarters in Abuja.
He added that the drone system would also help the police see criminals whenever they might be committing crimes.
“The ungoverned spaces will soon become governed,” he said.
He further said the force would establish a Special Intervention Squad, SIS, in all the states of the federation to tackle kidnapping, banditry and other forms of criminality in Nigeria.
The police boss said the deployment of the SIS in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, had yielded results leading to the arrest of many kidnappers and bandits, including the recovery of weapons.
The IGP said the force had also established dedicated anti-kidnapping units across various states, focusing on intelligence gathering and rapid responses to kidnapped incidents.
