Police to deploy 158 additional patrol vehicles -----IG
(Nigeria) The Inspector-General of Police, Mr Solomon Arase,
on Tuesday said the police would deploy 158 additional patrol vehicles to the
highways following President Muhammadu Buhari‘s order to the military to
dismantle check points nationwide.
Arase said this while fielding questions from newsmen
shortly after declaring open a one-day stakeholders consultative meeting on
``Improving Police Response to Sexual and Gender-Based Violence and Gender
Mainstreaming’’ in Abuja.
He said the police were prepared to take over the points
that would be vacated by the military following the order.
``But that does not mean that we are not still going to have
some collaboration with the military. Constitutionally, they are supposed to
assist whenever we have issues where we required their assistance; we still
need to synergise with them,’’ he said.
Arase said the force would organise a forum where it would
seek the assistance of ``non-state actors in the provision of security for the
citizenry.
``Police alone cannot provide security. No police in the
world have complete dominance of the security space, security is everybody’s
business,’’ he said.
He said the police had deployed 350 patrol vehicles to major
highways under a scheme tagged ``Safer Highway’’ to enhance security of
travelers in places where such road blocks were earlier dismantled.
Arase said the police had concluded plans to set up a
technical platform to deal with gender related violence, adding that the
platform would be connected to some major hospitals across the country to
enable victims promptly lodged complaint to the force.
The IG also said the police should be able to respond
promptly to the needs of the public they serve.
``Any police force in the world should be sensitive to the
public that they serve. If we are not sensitive to the public, then, it means
we are not carrying out our duties,’’ the IG said.
In a message to the event, Mrs Esther Eghobamien-Mshellia,
the Director, Women and Gender Affairs, Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, said
the police had crucial role to play in enforcing the Violence against Persons
Prohibition Act.
``It is my conviction that intervention in the lives of
women, girls and other disadvantaged groups in the country will not come to
fruition unless the police play leading role,’’ she added.
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