Police strategise to end terrorism, attacks on officers

Police have been devising strategies to end terrorism, kidnapping, communal clashes and attacks on officers, the Acting Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, said on Thursday.

Speaking to senior officers at Force Headquarters, Abuja on Thursday, Abubakar said emphasis was being placed on combat readiness and intelligence-gathering in checking growing insecurity in the country.

The IG, who decried constant attacks on policemen in parts of the country, expressed his shock on the killing of a retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Abubakar Saleh, and his orderlies in Kano by gunmen on Tuesday.

He directed senior officers to strengthen the force’s community policing strategies to ensure the success of all security measures being put in place.

Abubakar said, “Many security challenges are facing the country in different dimensions and these include erratic bombings by terrorists, communal clashes, kidnappings and more heart-rending, constant killing of policemen and other security personnel. In all these, the police have been most affected.

“There are many policies that are being put in place to reposition the force, but they cannot be feasible without our collective support, contribution and dedication.”

He said recruitment and the training of policemen had been receiving attention, adding that the police training institutions would soon be rehabilitated.

On the July 14 governorship elections in Edo and Ondo states, Abubakar said the electoral laws must be enforced and obeyed, stressing that the police must ensure hitch-free polls in the two states.

The IG commiserated with the families of the deceased and injured victims of the bomb blast at Harvestfield Church, Bauchi, and the Dana plane crash in Lagos.