Rakiya A. Muhammad
Federal Government is committed to deepening citizens’ ownership of policing endeavours and promoting inclusiveness for more proactive security measures, Minister of Police Affairs has assured.
Dr Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi spoke at the Northwest Zonal sensitisation campaign on Police Public Complaints Committee, held in Sokoto State. It was the second sensitisation campaign for the Police Public Complaints Committee. The first edition took place in Lagos on 18th November 2021.
Following the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari, the Minister had inaugurated the resuscitated Police Public Complaints Committee in Abuja on 7th April 2021 to bridge the gap between the Police and the populace to elicit sustainable confidence and cooperation.
“This initiative is in furtherance of President Muhammadu Buhari’s quest to achieve people-centric security arrangements,” the Minister stated.
He added that the initiative prioritises respect for citizens’ rights, addresses genuine cases of infractions to promote inclusiveness in policing arrangements to advance peace and security for national development.
The choice of the Northwest zone for the second edition, Dingyadi disclosed, draws strength from the need to elicit support towards decapitating notorious elements, threatening peace and security in the zone.
“Again, the recent launch of ‘Operation Sahara Storm’ in Sokoto by the Inspector General of Police requires support to replicate its successes in other states of North-West Nigeria,” he pointed out.
“Our gathering here this afternoon also dovetails the lessons learnt from last year’s #ENDSARS Protest and the need to sensitise Nigerians on actions taken to avert its reoccurrence.”
He stressed the need to eliminate all forms of apathy, build trust and confidence in the Police to rout out all enemies of peace from the zone.
“The idea is to put in place a permanent structure as a proactive mechanism that will help to effectively nip in the bud civil unrests, distrust and apathy with their undesirable or concomitant effects and disruptive tendencies,” he said.
The Minister charged the PPCC to work assiduously and transparently to give Nigerians’ confidence that a just system would attend to their complaints.
He, however, stressed that Committee was not out to witch-hunt the men and officers of the Nigerian Police Force.” Rather, it is to work in synergy with the Police to ensure it carries out its mandate effectively.”
The representative of the Inspector General of Police, AIG Bello Sanni Zone 10, described PPCC as a child of necessity put in place to augment the work of the Police Force. He added it would enable the public to voice their grievances and seek redress.
According to him, the sensitisation campaign would go a long way to keep the public abreast of the role of police in safeguarding the lives and properties of the citizens.
In a message to the occasion, Sokoto State Commissioner for Security and Carriers Matters, Colonel Garba Moyi, lauded the proactive measures taken to revitalise the PPCC.
Moyi, represented by Abdulkadir Muhammad, noted the relationship between the police and the people in the state as cordial.
Also speaking, the Student Union Leader of the Usmanu Dan Fodio University, Muhammad Shamsideen Umar, described the PPCC initiative as a timely and welcome development.
He expressed optimism that the initiative would redress some issues between the public and the police officers.
