AIG tasks police officers on intelligence based policing

The Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone 7, Mr Adebowale Williams, has called on police personnel in the zone to enhance their intelligence capacities and capabilities.

Williams made the call on Thursday in Abuja during his familiarization visit to the Police Command in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

He said the call became necessary in view of the fact that the focus of modern policing was intelligence led, community based and technology driven.

The AIG urged the personnel in the zone to take advantage of the various units in the force to enhance proactive policing in the country.

“You must take advantage of the Police Tactical Intelligence Unit, the Crime Data Base Unit, the Nigeria Police Force National Cyber Crime Centre and the Nigeria Police Force Interpol to enhance your proactive policing,” he said.

Williams urged the Police Divisional Officers in the zone to improve on visibility policing.

According to him, “I have gone round within the little time available to me and have noticed that some of you in the division are not really coming out.”

He said visibility policing was key to confidence building and acceptability from members of the public.

Williams urged the officers to sustain strategic partnership with other sister agencies and stakeholders, adding that the fight against insecurity was a collective one.

“We must improve on traffic control in the FCT. The next time the monitoring unit goes out and finds you wanting, either in your dressing or character or the way you relate with the public, you will be made to explain yourself.

“We must reinvigorate stop and search, devoid of extortion. Your duty is to make the environment conducive for the people to go about their lawful businesses and not to extort them,” he said.

In his remark, the Commissioner of Police in charge of the FCT, Mr Haruna Garba, said the territory was a mini-Nigeria, where all the ethnic groups in the country were represented.

He said the Command was doing all it could to restore public confidence by encouraging the people to participate in its activities, targeted at reducing crime and criminality.

“In policing the FCT we will adhere to professional ethics, abide by our code of conduct and respect the rights of the people.

“To fight crime and criminality in the FCT, we have adopted so many strategies and this has been yielding positive results.

“The Command has embarked on massive raids in the last two months on black/criminal hotspots and uncompleted buildings and canals.

“The outcome has been positive, as suspected armed robbers are being arrested on a daily basis with recoveries of firearms and hard drugs,” he said.