The Acting Inspector-general of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, has on Wednesday urged Government to dedicate more funds to the Police and increase its annual personnel recruitment quota from 10,000 to 20,000.
Mr Egbetokun decried the grossly inadequate number of personnel in the force, saying that inadequate funding was also responsible for the inability of the force to effectively combat crime and criminality in the country.
Egbetokun spoke at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, near Jos, organiser of the Defence Week for the Senior Executive Course (SEC) 45.
The IGP presented a paper titled, ”Industrialisation, Energy Security and Climate Change: The Role of the Nigerian Police Force.”
He observed that the shortage of modern equipment was also responsible for the inability of the police to secure facilities that would enable industrialisation in the country.
He said the Nigeria Police requires an additional 190,000 personnel in line with the United Nations’ recommendation.
He told participants that inadequate manpower is the reason for low police presence while arguing that it could hinder the Federal Government’s industrialisation efforts.
H said, ”Without sufficient police presence and response capabilities, industrial sites are vulnerable to criminal activities, thereby, hampering economic progress.
”As part of my recommendation for this lecture, my office will liase with the Chairman of the Police Service Commission and the Minister of Police Affairs.
Hence, he advised government to increase the annual intake of personnel into the police force from 10,000 to 20,000, starting from 2024.
Egbetokun further called on the federal government to direct the Minister of Finance to provide funds for the procurement of modern crime-fighting equipment for the force.
The IGP, however, conceded that the federal government had recently approved the recruitment of more police personnel across the nation, but did not disclose the number to be recruited.
