By
Christopher Oji
The House of Representative
Committee on Police Affairs yesterday at the Lagos state police command headquarters,
Ikeja Lagos, south-west Nigeria decried the deplorable state of police barracks,
within the country, describing it as inhabitable and dehumanizing.
The committee, chaired by Hon. Usman Bello Kumo, urged the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on all police, military paramilitary barracks within the country.
The committee, chaired by Hon. Usman Bello Kumo, urged the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on all police, military paramilitary barracks within the country.
Kumo, who led members of the
committee to inspect the newly renovated Police College, Ikeja, and some
police barracks within the State, blamed the Federal Government for
allowing the military to renovate the Police barracks Ikeja.
While fielding questions from
journalist, Kumo said; " I wanted to say the what we saw today us a
cause for worry in the sense that humans beings who are expected to Man
security situations in this country the task crime and criminality are not
treated well.
It is discouraging and something drastic has
to be done hence the morale of the Nigerian police will continue to go down and
they won't be able to give out the required services.
I am saying it because of what we
saw, first we have to appreciate the Federal Government, in their quick
intervention in renovating the Ikeja police college or a portion of it.
We want to thank the President for
that but not withstanding we still want to advice the President and the
executive that therefore, when they want to issue this kind of project they
should give it to the appropriate quarter. In a democratic dispensation there
is no point directing the military to renovate police facility because the
police in a civilian and civil dispensation, they are those that are supposed
to Man the security of the land. We are saying this because we want to put the
record and make sure that everybody does the right thing.
But I would appreciate that because
the president did that because of the urgency of that particular situation.
What we saw at the barracks, , the facilities are so inhabitable and
decapitated,
The facilities have existed
for practically close to 100 years and you expect humans beings
living there
to be up and doing in the and you expect their psychology to active in discharging their responsibility in protecting lives and property, we are not encouraging them as government.
to be up and doing in the and you expect their psychology to active in discharging their responsibility in protecting lives and property, we are not encouraging them as government.
I am calling on the government to declare a
state of emergency on all barracks, not only on the police but on all security
agencies including the police, military and other paramilitary agencies in the
country. Only in doing this that we can give the required support and in turn
they will give us the service required from them.
I will not blame the police budget
implementation but I will blame the budge process. If you do not change the
envelope system, still we are not changing and we are not changing anything.
First you do is to place your priority,
in placing your priorities you must change the envelope system. You can be
taking an envelope system that was inherited by the colonial masters and you
still adopt it as a way of doing our budget. What we should have done is to put
our priority on the fast line and we can achieve huge results."
Meanwhile, the committee met
the notorious southwest robbery czar, Abiodun
Ogunjobi, AKA, Godogodo, who was presented to them by
Commissioner of Police Lagos State, Umar
Manko and his officer in charge of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad.
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