The Inspector General of Police, IG Mohammed A. Adamu, on Tuesday, tasked the force public relations officers to maintain professionalism in order to win public trust and confidence as pathway to crime management.
Adamu gave the charge at the opening of Police Public Relations Officers (PPROs) 4-day intensive workshop holding at Golden Tulip Hotel, Agulu, Anaocha LGA of Anambra state.
The workshop had in attendance PPROs from 36 states of the country, FCT Abuja, zones including Frank Mba, the Force PPRO, Anambra state police Commissioner, John B. Abang, the President of Nigeria Institute of Public Relations, Mr. Mukhtar Sirajo, National President of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Comrade Chris Isiguzo, among others.
The IG represented by AIG Baba Tijani, said the police had embraced the concept of community policing which was directed at building strong partnership with the citizens.
“The Public Relations Department of the Nigeria Police remains critical to this process. All of these considerations make it imperative that we continually equip the Police Public Relations Officers with necessary skills and knowledge to efficiently engage the public and effectively manage the image and perceptions about the Force.
“ It is my expectation, our dear guests and officers, therefore, that at the end of the workshop, your capacity would have been significantly broadened and your skills sharpened for optimal performance especially in the area of bridging the gap between the Police and members of the public and enhancing a people-friendly and Community -driven police Force.
“It is also my expectation that you shall at the end of this programme, imbibe the concept and practice of strategic information management, and develop strong critical thinking ability needed to dissect and manage complex Public Relations challenges in the most professional manner,” he stated.
In a goodwill message, the National President of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Comrade Chris Isiguzo, described the event as timely, and urged that such regular and periodic events be maintained to repositioning the Force and enhanced its acceptability by all and sundry.
“To us in the media, we will like to call for more of such events that will involve media professionals, because the global information crisis in which journalism is being overwhelmed by the narrow self-interests of political and corporate centres of power is felt strongly in in Nigeria, where hate-speech, fake news and abusive exploitation of information technology are endangering pluralism and democracy.
“Democratic process in Nigeria is in danger of being undermined by unscrupulous politicians and the prevalence of false, hateful and divisive information that creates fear, ignorance and uncertainty within the public at large. We believe that the crisis of propaganda, fake news and hate speech requires a practical and comprehensive response which puts ethics, self-regulation and good governance at the heart of journalism across the country,” Isuguzo noted.
Declaring the programme open earlier, Governor Willie Obiano, restated his administration commitment to maintain safety and security of lives and property in the state.
Obiano revealed that the state would on Friday October 11 launch an unprecedented security operation where state of the art security equipment would be donated to the state police command to enhance crime fighting, detection and prevention.
