June 10, (THEWILL)- President Muhammadu Buhari has assured Nigerians that the government was in the process of recruiting 10,000 new policemen to boost national security.
“We are currently recruiting 10,000 new police officers to reinforce our personnel capacity across the country,” the President said in a speech on Thursday, during the commissioning of newly-acquired security equipment and assets at Police College, in Ikeja.
He further said, “I have directed the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission to carry out an upward review of Police salaries and benefits.”
The President said no Federal Government since 1999 had been as committed as his administration in reforming and repositioning the Nigeria Police Force and national policing architecture.
He said: “In 2019, I signed into law the Act establishing the Nigeria Police Trust Fund, the first in the history of the Force, to provide guaranteed funding to support Police welfare, logistics and equipment.
“In September 2020, I assented to the Bill amending the Nigeria Police Act, which was originally enacted in 1943.
“This new Act, a vast improvement over the old one, among other things spells out the modalities for the implementation of a National Community Policing Scheme in Nigeria.
“This new scheme will build confidence within our local communities and make them active stakeholders in the safety and security of their environs.”
Commending the Lagos State Government on the newly-acquired security equipment and assets, the President noted that it would go a long way in boosting the morale of the Police, and further enhance their capacity to fight crime and combat criminality.
“This is even more touching in the light of the unwarranted violence that ensued in the wake of the #EndSARS protests last October, which saw the security architecture in Lagos State being severely damaged,” he said.
The President added that it was commendable that Lagos State, the Centre of Excellence, has shown a truly resilient spirit, in the face of the massive destruction it suffered last October, during the EndSARS protest.
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