BEVERLY HILLS, February 16, (THEWILL) – The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, has declared that the police is ready and well prepared for the 2019 elections slated for February and March 2019.
Idris spoke in Lagos on Thursday after the public presentation of his book: Security and justice: The pathway for peace and reconciliation in Nigeria.
He said: “We are prepared for the elections. We have the men and we have the materials (logistics) to carry out our duties successfully before, during and after the elections,” he said.
Idris, in the 292-page book with 18 chapters proffers solutions to violence, corruption and other societal ills stating that the country’s security challenges would be contained if Nigerians pursued true reconciliation and shunned inflammatory comments.
Dedicating the book to his men, Idris said proceeds from its sale would be used to fund the Security and Justice Initiative, a foundation being established for the promotion of peace, security and reconciliation in Nigeria.
“The challenges we are having with these herdsmen have gone down. In Benue, we have 15 units on ground and I have been monitoring their successes.
“I was in Benue and we have been having stakeholders’ meetings and we have been discussing.
“Based on that, people have been coming openly to state their problems and it is through this that we can understand each other and reconcile our differences.
“The role of traditional rulers in this reconciliation process cannot be over-emphasised because most of them have the ears of their people. When you have political disagreement in these communities, these traditional rulers are handy.
“I have watched with troubled heart the security challenges confronting this country. The challenges of Boko Haram in the North East, kidnappings and armed robberies, cattle rustling and militancy in virtually all parts of Nigeria.
“The farmers/herders clashes, assassination for various reasons, conflicts among the divergent communities, which often take dangerous dimensions and occur along the fault lines of ethnic, religious, regional and political differences.
“These challenges if not properly managed at the pace we are going, coupled with inflammatory and inciting statements will tear this country apart and drag us into unending crises.
“It is my conviction that when there is security, justice, peace and reconciliation in any nation, civil strife will be avoided. The civil war of 1967 to 1970 perhaps turned out as the first major and catostrophic crisis in the record of our national experience.
“This civil war occurred based on perceived ethnic and political differences and a feeling of injustice.”
In attendance were Secretary to Lagos State Government Tunji Bello; Oba of Lagos, Rilwanu Akiolu; former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro; former Ogun State Governor, Olusegun Osoba; Chairman Police Service Commission, Mike Okiro; former IGP, Sunday Ehindero; former head of Lagos State Security Trust Fund, Aderemi Makanjuola among others.
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