By Evelyn Usman
President of the Association of Industrial Security and Safety Operators of Nigeria, AISSON Dr. Ona Ekhomu, yesterday , called on the Federal Government to initiate urgent reforms of the Nigeria Police Force, saying that killings of policemen across the nation, indicated that the reforms were overdue.
The call came in the wake of the recent killing of seven policemen in Galadima area of Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.
The Security and Criminology lecturer in the University of Lagos , who spoke in Lagos stated that the proposed police reforms must be aimed at transforming the security institution from its current “dysfunctional state into an agency that can play an effective, legitimate and democratically accountable role in providing effective and measurable security services to Nigerians.
Calling on the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris to deploy both human and technical machinery to unearth the real culprits behind the massacre, Ona, suggested also that a bounty of N20million should be declared for information that would lead to the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators.
He also urged the media to honour the deceased cop by writing more on their dreams and aspirations before life was snuffed out of them, saying : “Nigerians deserve to know who these heroes were. No hero serving his fatherland should be left behind in the field of battle. All heroes are heroes. These men laid down their lives so the rest of us can live in a civilized society. We must honor their sacrifice”.
“The killers are out there and somebody knows them. In the sub-culture of crime, they brag about these gory incidents. Someone somewhere has this information but does not know how to get it to the authorities,” he added.
He described the current internal security architecture as defective and decayed, saying “as the primary internal security organ, the police agency must reform to achieve its constitutional mandate of ensuring security for Nigerians. Service, integrity and professionalism must become the guiding principles of policing to regain public trust and respect.
“The current police structures and processes need to be studied and improved for greater performance, while reforms must be teleological and not hodge-podge. Police reforms must balance the challenges of insecurity with the needs of development and the imperatives of human rights. The NPF must continue to be depoliticized despite the government in power”, he stated.
Ekhomu further advised policemen to display a keener sense of security awareness, reminding that they were exposed to vicious criminals who appeared intent on spilling police blood.
Vanguard
