How we curbed insecurity in southeast –IGP

Juliana Francis

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba, has revealed how he and his men worked night and day in order to restore peace in the southeast.

According to the IGP, the relative peace in that region of the Nigeria wouldn’t have been achieved if not for intelligence driven efforts.  He stated this while chatting with journalists on Monday

His words: “When last did you hear of such attacks on our formations? It is part of what we did and I can assure you that we are working hard to defeat insecurity in the country. But on the question concerning our strategy, you know quite well that I wouldn’t divulge such here. However, the issue was tackled through concerted and intelligence-driven efforts of our team and these efforts had also reduced criminal activities in that region.”

Baba, who promised to work hard towards ensuring the entrenchment of a culture that rewards good deeds and punishes bad ones, stressed that collaboration with other security architecture and traditional institutions was one sure of way of improving security in Nigeria.

Baba seized the opportunity to explain that the ban placed on the issuance of permits for tinted glass was not directed at factory-fitted cars.

According to him, the decision was taken to stop the abuses associated with the use of tinted glass and SPY number plates. Baba explained that his vision and mission for the Police had not changed.

They still are: “Deploying cutting-edge policing technology, integrating intelligence-led policing practices to core policing functions, with a view to strengthening police capacity to stabilise the internal security order and restoring public confidence in the Force.”

He acknowledged the complaint that his men were taking advantage of the directive on the tinted glass permits to harass innocent car owners with factory-fitted tinted glass, adding that he was going to address perceived excesses.

“Yes, we understand that there are usually issues with policies and their implementation. The directive on tinted glass is not about the factory-fitted ones but those that are artificially made to cover the whole screens. If you look at the factory-fitted tinted glass you can still see through them and if there is any need for the driver to open the doors the security officers would know. But those that are not factory-fitted are completely covered so that no one knows who or what they carry. Those are the ones the ban is targeted at,” explained the IGP.

He also revealed that Nigeria was working on a central database for criminals across the country and that efforts were in top gear towards acquiring more tools for his men to work with.

He noted that criticism from the media was not something that would be taken wrongly because, “Your criticisms will make us stronger, but let them be constructive. Essence of this meeting is to emphasise our open door policy and I can assure you that we will work hard with the little resources at our disposal to run intelligence-driven operations in Nigeria through collaboration with other security agencies and stakeholders.”