Minister of state for police affairs, Hon Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on his giant strides in securing the country and boosting the economy, as the administration marks it’s first anniversary tomorrow May 29, 2024.
In a briefing note, she x-rayed the challenges that have confronted the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) for decades and outlined her achievements in the last few months of her appointment.
She expressed optimism in superintending over the emergence of a world-class NPF that is fit for the 21st Century, inclusive, community based, intelligence-led, and technologically driven, while excelling in maintaining public safety, upholding the rule of law, and fostering community trust through transparent and accountable practices.
Ibrahim-Sulaiman stated that she had conducted a thorough scan of the policing environment, aligning it with international best practices, and had reviewed the performances of the eight attempts at reforming the NPF, thereafter developing a roadmap for transforming the force.
Some of the achievements include the progress on the National Criminal Data Fusion Centre (NCDFC) for the NPF, which is at advanced stage of completion; launch of the Nigeria Police Veterans Foundation to cater for retired police officers; significant progress on strategic shift towards community policing to improve overall safety and security of communities, coupled with a policy on community policing that is at the verge of being completed.
She added that she had secured commitment on technical assistance and funding from various partners locally and internationally for strengthening the NPF, and has set up a team of national experts who are working on a National Policing Policy, to set out the strategic direction of policing in terms of the National Security Strategy.
“The ministry is also working on drafting a national policy document on Community policing that would regulate and streamline the activities of all stakeholders as well as set out operational guidelines for effective community policing in Nigeria, and the recent launch of the Young and Secure Project in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Youth Development.”.
The minister also discussed the many engagements held with the Agencies under the Ministry to establish their mandate, work plans, achievements, key issues and challenges, and opportunities, coupled with a review of multiple position papers, reports, and reform papers on policing that were conducted.
