Press Releases

Court Public Confidence As Recipe For Successful War Against Crime, Fashola Tells Police

May 5, 2009 - Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), Tuesday exhorted members of the Nigeria Police Force to work towards boosting the confidence of members of the public in the force saying it is the only way to fight crime successfully.

Fashola, who spoke at the Lagos House, Alausa when he received the Senior and Intermediate Medium Course 57/2009 of the Nigeria Police from the Police Academy, Jos Plateau State, said such confidence was necessary if the police hopes to obtain the required information for successful war against crime in the society.

“You must recognize that people are at the core of your success. The policeman on investigative duty is as efficient as the information he receives. If members of the community do not feel safe to share information with you, there is no way you can succeed”, the Governor said, adding that the greatest crimes across the globe had been solved through information.

According to him, “They do not fall from the sky. They come from members of the community who feel comfortable to come to you, members of the police, to divulge such information”, adding that the thinking of the people at the moment was that if they go to the police to offer information, they are locked up as first accused. “We must work together to change that image”, the Governor said.

Governor Fashola also urged the members of the Force to accord the required respect to the uniform they wear as the symbol of State Authority adding, “Once you wear it, it defines the State and anything you do with that uniform must be to propagate and defend the image of the State.”.

“Anytime you do anything contrary to the interest of the State with the uniform on, you give the impression that the State supports that bad conduct”, Governor Fashola said pointing out the uniform is also paid for with tax payers’ money.

He said aside from being the symbol of State authority, the uniform is also a symbol of security and protection for the taxpayers with whose taxes the uniforms are bought. “You have the responsibility to protect those who paid for that uniform. They deserve minimum respect from you”, the Governor said.

Stressing the need for adequate support to the Nigerian Police in terms of logistics and welfare, Governor Fashola, who said there is a capacity and knowledge sufficiency within the rank and file of the Nigeria Police Force, queried, “Are we giving enough support to the people whom we have asked to risk their lives for us? Have we done enough for them?”

According to the Governor, “These are the things we identified in Lagos. For us, it will never be enough. So we decided to do all of the things we have done. We increased the welfare package of the people whom we expect to be first responders, put them on an insurance cover for disability and death”.

“Beyond that, we are changing the environment where they work. We have started rebuilding the Area C Command; the Makoko Police Station is also under reconstruction. We recently approved the installation of solar panels as a pilot scheme that we hope to replicate across all the divisional headquarters in the State so that they will have minimum requirement to charge their walkie-talkies”, he said, adding that if such things are not provided, it will be impossible for the police to function effectively.

Reiterating his call for the establishment of State Police, Governor Fashola said it was the only way to build an efficient police force that is capable to respond to the issues of crime and civil protection in the country.

“I have my views about the manner the Nigeria Police Force should be run and I think there should be reform but the reform should be towards community policing which means getting people to police their own environment. We must allow states to get involved in the recruitment and payment and choice of the capacity of the force that each state needs. Our populations are different, our needs are different”, the Governor said.

He suggested that the Police Academy could be split into six or four to be controlled by a common curriculum and a common uniform saying each state should be at liberty to send the number of officers it needs for training after which such officers should be returned to the state which takes care of their payment.

“In the way we have Federal laws and state laws and legislatures, we should be able to have our own police without necessarily surrendering everything to the Federal Government”, the Governor said, adding that it is the only way the nation could have the police force of its dream.

Earlier in his introductory remarks, the Course Coordinator, Mr. John Olayemi, a Deputy Commissioner of Police, told the Governor that the visit was to congratulate him for the tremendous support he has given to the Police Command in Lagos and also to see, first hand, the man behind the transformation of Lagos State.

“Our visit is based on what we hear about Lagos. We decided to visit Lagos to see for ourselves the transformation and beautification of Lagos and the man behind it. It has confirmed your love for aesthetics”, Olayeni said adding that the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Marvel Akpoyibo had earlier briefed the Course members on the support the Governor has rendered the Police in the State.

Thanking the Governor for the hospitality they have enjoyed since they arrived Lagos, the Coordinator who said many of them have at one time or the other served in Lagos State, prayed that his vision for Lagos State would translate to transformation of the country as a whole.

Also present at the occasion were some members of the State Executive Council and top government functionaries.