Abuja
Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, has disclosed that the Nigeria Police Force “loses 9,028 officers to death, dismissal and retirement annually.”
Idris made the disclosure at the monthly meeting with Commissioners of Police and above yesterday in Abuja.
The IGP said the development had seriously affected the manpower of the Force.
He noted that the 308, 000 police workforce was grossly inadequate for the effective policing of the more than 180 million people in the country.
The police boss said the country was far below the UN standard of one policeman to 400 persons, adding that the federal government had approved the recruitment of 6,000 policemen into the rank and file.
“The issue of manpower is one problem the Nigeria Police Force is facing,” he said.
On the attachment of policemen to private persons, Idris said the Force would review it to ensure that they worked for the general public.
“There is a need for us to have a police that will work for the generality of Nigerians.”
He said he had directed police commissioners and zonal Assistant Inspectors-General of Police, to compile the number of policemen attached to individuals in the country.
President Muhammadu Buhari had, in 2015, directed that police personnel attached to unauthorised and some prominent persons in the country be withdrawn and deployed to confront the security challenges in the nation.
The Chairman, Police Service Commission (PSC), Mike Okiro, said more than 150,000 policemen were attached to unauthorised persons and Very Important Personalities (VIPs) in the country.
He said the meeting was aimed at having a comprehensive resolution on the issue of illegal firearms in the country.
Idris noted that the alleged arming of militia groups by state governments and individuals was not in the interest of the country, and urged the commissioners of police to embark on campaign against illegal firearms in their various commands.
Idris said plans were underway to construct an armoury for the storage of illegal firearms seized from militias across the country.
According to him, the Force has already taken several measures to check security challenges across the country.
