President Tinubu Sets Up Committee On Police Reforms

President Bola Tinubu

A Constitutional Review Committee has been set up by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to carry out comprehensive reforms of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).

Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State made this known while speaking with State House correspondents at the end of the Nigeria Police Council meeting on Tuesday.

Mohammed listed members of the committee to include the Minister of Police Affairs, Ibrahim Geidam; National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu; the Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC), Solomon Arase; and Governor of Kwara and Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.

He said: “The confirmation of the IGP prompted further discussion on the Nigeria Police Force, and the President has formed a special committee to look at all the gaps in Nigeria’s 1999 constitution with a view to bringing harmony and synergy, closing technology and manpower to the Nigerian Police Force.

“The committee comprises the minister of police affairs, NSA, chairman of PSC, and the chairman of the NGF. They will work together with a view to make sure that the Nigeria Police is reformed.”

Also speaking, Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State said the council observed that no meaningful reforms have taken place in the police since its creation in 1861.

The governor added that the committee would develop ideas that would lead to reforms that would characterize the new Nigeria police force.

He said: “The newly confirmed IGP is adequately prepared, his CV is extremely rich, very experienced, intellectually and practically.

“He also addressed us as a council on the state of policing in Nigeria, among other things that he highlighted, he spoke about the need for technology-driven policing.

“The need for community-based policing, the need to ensure that required budgetary provision is provided for community-based policing, which has been proven to be very effective.

“The issue of funding also came up, and this committee of four to five people will look at these issues that borders on reforms.

“We observed that there have been no meaningful reforms since the establishment of the Nigeria Police Force.”