Faith Awa Maji, Lafia
ActionAid Nigeria (AAN) in collaboration with Global Peace Development (GPD), Beacon Youth Initiative (BYI) and the Nigeria Police, Nasarawa State Command have commenced a two day training of 27 police officers on community policing.
The training aimed at strengthening community policing architecture in the state in line with the objective of the System and Structure strengthening Approach against Radicalization to Violent Extremism (SARVE II) phase II Project, with funding from the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF)
The training of the 27 police officers from various divisions in Nasarawa State held on Thursday at Kini Country Home Hotel, Akwanga Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
Declaring the training open on behalf of the AAN Country Director, Ene Obi, AAN Manager, Humanitarian and Resilient Unit, David Harbba said the training was part of core mandates of Actionaid to partner with security personnel in the fight against crime and criminalities.
He noted that collaborating with security agents at the time such as this will go along way in reducing the high rates of crimes in the society to the barrest minimum.
The AAN Manager who used the avenue to welcome the participants and urged them to ensure they protect themselves, others and to adhere to COVID-19 protective measure.
On his part, Aliyu Adamu, the Project Officer, ActionAid Nigeria SARVE II Project for Nasarawa State, said the project is implemented to build community resilience in preventing violent extremesim through the establishment and strengthening of the Community Action and Response Team (CATs) which is a community watch group aimed at addressing issues of early warning response so as to promote communal social cohesion and peaceful coexistence in the community.
‘We need community to come on board to be part and parcel of security in their community. We found out that there is discrepancy, the gab between the community and the police, there are not working harmoniously and we feel the strengthening’, Adamu Aliyu said.
According to Adamu, the training was also borne out from the meeting that was held in January this year within North Central States on how to strengthening the border security to avert crime and violent in the society.
Executive Director, Global Peace Development (GPD), Eburke Onajite Esike noted that the training is apt considering the issue of insecurity in Nigeria, reoccurring of violence in different places both physical in community and even to women and children in terms of sexual and gender based violence which are increase.
The GPD boss in Nasarawa State said if this must forestalled, stakeholders must ensure that the community are involved in surveillance otherwise call community policing.
‘If there must be strong relationship between the civilians in the community with the police, there must be chain with the police to understand the approuch to do the community policing.
‘Community policing is an interaction in spreading an early warning and to allying with the plan of G-SERVE project we are implementing with ActionAid particularly to stem information generation from communities to push them to Local Government Areas’ level’s and to the State level’, Eburke Esike added
Earlier, the Commissioner of Police Nasarawa State Command, Bola Longe said community policing is a partnership between the police and the public, saying police alone cannot succeed hence there is need for them to partner with the public to eradicate crimes and criminality in the society.
The Commissioner who was represented by the Area Commandant Akwanga, Assistant Commissioner of Police, ACP Suleiman Iki who stressed out that the recruitment of community policing will cut across all electoral wards in Nigeria.
‘You know that, police alone cannot succeed except in partnership with the public to assist police on how to carryout our responsibility and when there is partnership, there must be trust’, ACP Suleiman said.
A facilitator at the training, Jare Gaskiya, who spoke on Peace, Security and Governance, said working in the community requires trust, confidence, relationship for partnership, not detecting to the community, approaching community with equal, being sensitive in community interest and understanding.
‘It is about the security of the community which is part of national security for which is also the foundation of national security. So you are not going to the community by that there is national security threat, you are going to the community by saying what are the security issues in your community and what are the other issues in your community. That is important for us to address and that from there, the community can take ownership of the process and secure themselves’.
The facilitator also added that, there is need to re-oriente the National Policing architecture which was the basis of community noting that, it will necessite change in structural, institutional and individual change.
According to Jare Gaskiya ‘Even if we have the capacity and people’s attitudes need to change. It about securing themselves, guarranting their own safety and the policing themselves’.
He said he is of the optimistic by the training saying, it will go along way because the participants are carefully selected considering their enormous contribution in nation’s building.
ActionAid and partners, however observed with kin concerned that will deter the smooth take off community policing in Nigeria as thus:
That the concept of community policing is a philosophy of policing practice and organitional strategy of policing to ensure and enhance the security and safety of citizens and community in a participatory and inclusive citizen led manner.
From a critical review of the strategic document guiding community policing initiative regardless of the current drive on in community policing in Nigeria and although the current constitutional and legislative framework permit, entrance and allow the reorientation of the police and policing Inna community policing strategy, however, there is inadequate legal framework to enhance and compel the implementation of the concept in order to ensure the sustainability of the current drive towards achieving community policing in Nigeria.
The strategic document on community policing lacks explicit legislative and legal framework to underpin its operationalization by virtue of the provision of section 214 of the 1999 constitution as amended.
There is continuing and widespread lack of awareness and enlightenment on the strategic approuch and organizational philosophy of community policing among citizens, communities, and the public at large.
There is continuing and widespread lack of awareness and enlightenment on the strategic approuch and organizational philosophy of community policing among the rank of and file and officer ranks of the police and other law enforcement agencies who undertake some aspects of policing as a part of their legal mandate.
Members of the community policing committee being from different backgrounds, may have different levels of understanding and status, which may impair the cohesion of the committee and impede their ability to act decisively and effectively.
The social justice organization then swiftly recommended that there is need for explicit legal framework on community policing in Nigeria and to also to amend the section of 214 of the 1999 constitution and amended as well as police act,
Continuious and sustain community sensitization through stakeholder’s engagement, education and capacity building anchor on a structure mechanism for implementation amongst other.