By Chizoba Ogbeche Abuja
Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Alhaji Ibrahim Kpotun-Idris, yesterday said the Nigeria Police Force required N1.13 trillion annually to eff ectively execute its operations. Idris said this at a Public Hearing on Bills to establish the Police Reform Trust Fund and a Bill to amend the Explosives Act 2004 in Abuja. Th e hearing was organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Police Aff airs. He explained that the amount excluded major capital projects such as arms and ammunition, purchase of new vehicles, gunboats, helicopters and other equipment.
Idris said the N560 billion recommended by the MD Yusuf-led Police Reform Committee in 2008 was a far cry from the current amount required. “To fully appreciate the funding challenges of the Nigeria Police Force, it will be appropriate to compare the MD Yusuf fi nancial estates of 2008,” he said. He explained that the force required an average of N26.9 billion annually for the maintenance and fueling of its vehicles. “Presently, the force has a fl eet of 14, 306 vehicles including 3,115 motorcycles nationwide,”he said. Th e police boss also said that N14.5 billion would be required annually for uniforms and kits for personnel of the force. Idris noted that the regular source of funding for the police through budgetary allocation had failed to address the fi nancial needs of the force to provide security for the nation. He said that if the bill was passed into law, it would largely address the funding challenges of the police. “Th e bill will provide alternative source of funding for the Nigeria Police Force for the training and retraining of personnel,”he said. He said the police required over N200 billion to install cameras; establish data base and other necessary equipments in all police stations across the country to fi ght crime and criminality.
“To eff ectively investigate and prosecute off enders, we must invest massively in the detective infrastructure and capacity of our investigators,”he said. Idris said this would enhance the investigation and prosecutorial capacity of the police. He observed that restricting the trust fund to a period of six years would not be in the best interested of the force and public. “Th e fund once established should be sustained in the interest of national security and not be to be time bound. “Th e purpose of the fund is to provide alternative funding for the police, but if it is subjected to too many bottlenecks, the objective will be defeated,” he said. Th e Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, said adequate funding was critical for the police to function eff ectively. He said inadequate funding of the police had exposed it to criticisms by Nigerians.
Chairman of the House Committee on Police Aff airs, Rep. Dauda Jika (APCBauchi), said the hearing was aimed at giving stakeholders the opportunity to make inputs into the bills. He said if passed into law, the fund would aff ord individuals and groups to contribute to the funding of the police. “Funding the police adequately will boost its morale and effi ciency,” he said. Chief of Defence Staff , Gen. Gabriel Olonisakin, called for a 10-year jail term for anyone who misappropriated the fund. “Any person found guilty of misappropriating the fund should go for at least 10 year imprisonment,” Olonisakin, who was represented by AVM Ibrahim Shafi , said.
