President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday warned the police to shun excessive use of force and harassment of innocent young Nigerians in their quest to rid the country of internet fraudsters.
Buhari also stressed the need to close trust gaps between the police and citizens, build partnerships and strengthen collaborations with communities to address prevalent security threats.
The president spoke at the opening of a three-day conference and retreat for senior officers themed “repositioning the force for the challenges of effective policing in the 21st century” organised in Lagos by the Inspector General of Police (IG) Mohammed Adamu.
Buhari who was represented by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said the police were doing a great job, alluding to the service’s headship of various peacekeeping missions in Africa and beyond, urging police authorities to ensure that errant personnel were duly sanctioned.
Buhari noted that the police were doing a great job in crime fighting, adding that over 5,000 suspected armed robbers, kidnappers, cultists and murderers have been arrested this year.
According to him, the retreat provided a unique opportunity to not just review internal security and policing issues but also acquire contemporary professional information and knowledge, undertake some peer review and build important networks needed to efficiently deal with current and anticipated internal security challenges.