The Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 7, Kayode Egbetokun, has said the police would work more on intelligence gathering towards security for the forthcoming 2023 general elections.
Egbetokun made the revelation during his familiarisation visit with the Federal Capital Territory Police Command on Wednesday.
He noted that police officers are the strategic managers for the provision of adequate security for election.
Egbetokun said, “Aside from being the lead agency in internal security, the NPF is also the lead agency in election security management as stipulated in the relevant sections of the Electoral Act, 2020.
“There is room for improvement; modern policing is intelligence-led, community-based and technology-driven. We must therefore work harder to enhance our intelligence capacity.
“We must improve on visibility policing. The recent deployment of newly passed out recruit constables is a big boost in this regard. We must sustain strategic partnership with other security agencies and other stakeholders.”
He further ordered the FCT Police Command to intensify stop and search operations, while urging the police officers to respect human rights and shun extortion in the course of their duties.
He added, “The FCT administration recently assisted the command with 20 new operational vehicles fitted with communication gadgets we must reciprocate this gesture by discharging our duties professionally, responsibly and scaling up our service delivery.
“We must improve traffic control within the FCT. Traffic officers must be on their toes to ensure traffic flows within the FCT. We must reinvigorate stop and search, effectively man black spots and sustain the present tempo in raid of criminal hideouts.
“Scavenging has been banned within the FCT and we must not allow them to continue to operate.”
Speaking to journalists during the AIG’s visit, the FCT Commissioner of Police, Sadiq Abubakar, said the Command had developed and implemented operational strategies to combat crime. He said the development was in compliance with the vision and mission of the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba.
Abubakar said, “The operational policies and strategies employed by the command have led to the arrest of 18 armed robbery suspects and the recovery of 1,159 exhibits, including arms and ammunition of various calibres, illicit drugs and other harmful weapons, and vehicles.Also, 24 kidnapped victims were rescued by operatives of the command, and they have been reunited with their families.”