President of the Association of Industrial Security and Safety Operators of Nigeria (AISSON), Dr. Ona Ekhomu has called on the Federal Government to initiate urgent reforms of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) to save police lives.
Ekhomu said that the police reforms were overdue as evidenced by the rise in killings all over the country, intentional targeting of law enforcement officers and extremely high fear index in the country.
He mourned the seven gallant officers killed in cold blood at Galadimawa, urging the Inspector-General of Police to deploy his best investigative assets – human and technical to detect the actual perpetrators.
The renowned security expert advised the Nigerian media to honor and humanize the dead police heroes by identifying them, showing their pictures and telling stories about who they were and what they liked and what their goals in life were. He said: “Nigerians deserve to know who these heroes were. No hero serving his fatherland should be left behind in the field of battle. All heroes are heroes”.
He said: “These men laid down their lives so the rest of us can live in a civilized society. We must honor their sacrifice”.
He called for a special tips hotline to take information on the police murders, urging the police management to provide a bounty of N20million for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators.
“The killers are out there and somebody knows them. In the sub-culture of crime, they brag about these gory incidents. Someone somewhere has this information but does not know how to get it to the authorities,” he added.
Ekhomu who is a Security and Criminology lecturer in the University of Lagos said that the proposed police reforms must be aimed at transforming the security institution from its current dysfunctional state into an agency that can play an effective, legitimate and democratically accountable role in providing effective and measurable security services to Nigerians.
He described the current internal security architecture as defective and decayed. As the primary internal security organ, the police agency must reform to achieve its constitutional mandate of ensuring security for Nigerians. He said that service, integrity and professionalism must become the guiding principles of policing to regain public trust and respect.
He said that current police structures and processes need to be studied and improved for greater performance. He advised that reforms must be teleological and not hodge-podge. He advised that Police reforms must balance the challenges of insecurity with the needs of development and the imperatives of human rights. He said that the NPF must continue to be depoliticized despite the government in power.
Ekhomu advised all policemen to display a keener sense of security awareness as they are exposed to vicious criminals who appear intent on spilling police blood.
He advised policemen on street duty to be professional, courteous and shun corrupt practices. He advised uniformed policemen to be well turned out, be well-behaved, be attentive and know that they are constantly being observed by members of the public
