From Molly Kilete, Abuja
The Minister of Police Affairs, Alhaji Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi, has said that the Federal Government was doing everything in its power to end activities of terrorists, bandits, kidnappers and other criminal groups ravaging the peace of the country with their acts.
He said the renewed efforts by the military in its operations in the North East and other parts of the country and that of the police and the security agencies was a pointer that insurgency activities are coming to an end.
The minister, who gave the assurance at a Ministerial Press Briefing in Abuja, also used the occasion to roll out some key reforms of the police force initiated by the ministry.
Dingyadi, expressing optimism that the ongoing counterterrorism war, anti-kidnapping and anti-banditry operations were beginning to yield positive results, said that recent statistics by security agents had shown a reduction in the incidences of such crimes across the country.
The minister, answering reporters’ question on the call by Kastina State Governor Alhaji Aminu Bello Masari that Nigerians should arm themselves in face of the rising insecurity in the country, said that it must be done in accordance with the rule of law to guide against running afoul of the law.
While calling on Nigerians and foreigners alike to be security conscious and provide useful information to security forces to enable them effectively carry out their operations, the minister noted that security was the responsibility of all and not that of the security agencies alone.
He revealed that the ministry under his leaders initiated the reformation of the Special Tactical Squad STS and the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad SARS of the Nigeria Police Force for optimal performance and the initiative had yielded tremendous achievements in recent times.
He further stated that the main mandate of the newly created Ministry of Police Affairs was to strengthen the security architecture of the nation’s security agencies assured that the problem of fueling Police operational vehicles would henceforth be addressed with dispatch.
‘We have secured the first tranch of N5 billion for the fueling of police operational vehicles from the Federal Executive Council and had gotten the assurances of the Inspector General Police Force on the effective disbursement of the said funds to police formations across the country.
‘We are making efforts to secure another tranch of N5 billion from the Federal Government to ensure the sustainability of this funding for continuous fueling of these vehicles.’
He said the ministry was carved out on August 21, 2019, from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, adding that as the first government establishment in charge of police affairs, they rely on data supplied by the Nigeria Police Force.
While noting that the ministry had entered into a contract agreement for the supply of Anti-Riot Equipment for the Police Force with Poly Technology of China at government to government terms for the total sum of $44 million.
The minister said that he had obtained the approval of the Federal Executive Council FEC to concession 470 moribund public communications networks which its major component is Close Circut Cameras CCTV.
He listed other key reforms of the police force by the ministry in the Buhari administration to include the training of 418 cadet officers of the Force and protection of critical national assets in oil and gas as well as financial institutions