Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun; Chairman, Police Service Commission (PSC), Solomon Arase and Director-General, Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER), Prof. Anthonia Simbine, have said that the prevalent insecurity across the country is surmountable if there is strong political will and cooperation from the people.
Egbetokun, who spoke alongside other security experts across several agencies during NISER’s seminar series entitled: “Digital Policing and Crime Control in Nigeria,” in Ibadan, yesterday, said part of the major setbacks on the war against insecurity were insufficient drones, inadequate funding and non-availability of skilled personnel.
He said these were critical factors slowing down the deployment of digital policing to tackle criminality in the country.
The IGP, represented by Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Adebola Hamzat, said Nigeria is yet to achieve so much in terms of digital policing.
He noted that the dearth of drones limits whatever the country has as achievements in digital policing, just as he said the lack of skilled personnel in the Nigeria Police Force also inhibits crime prevention through technology.
The police boss, who said that Nigeria needs more drones and experts to handle those technological tools in combating criminal elements in the society, however, said that the police are currently focusing more on preventive and proactive approaches to checkmate upsurge in crimes.
He urged Nigerians to be actively involved in ensuring the effective security of the country by being vigilant and being ready to avail the security agencies necessary information.
In her opening speech, Simbine said: “Global attention has shifted away from the traditional and reactive approach of policing crimes to a proactive approach, which entails the deployment of digital technology.
“This is critical because the issue of insecurity in the country has become a serious cause for concern with grave consequences for human safety and debilitating effect on productivity and sustained economic growth and development.”
Arase, on his part, said before 2015 and 2016, the Police Force had been able to develop capabilities and intelligence platforms that are not captured in this research, which according to him, is the essence of intellectual engagement.
He said: “Now, we are going to fill in the gaps. The choice of Lagos and Oyo states for this research was not appropriate because when you want to develop reforms, it starts from the headquarters. The Force Intelligence Bureau (FIB) and the Force Department of Investigation are the pioneers.
“What we need to do now is to start talking to research institutes like NISER on how to escalate intellectual discussion on what the police are doing. If these researchers had spoken directly with the journalists in the system, they would have understood and it would have helped fill the gaps. But we are glad that we are here and we will fill the lacuna.”
The Lead Presenter, Dr. Peter Tomoloju, a research fellow in the Social Policy Department at NISER, also said that the deployment of digital technologies in policing would enhance the security of the police and that of the citizens discouraging crime for the fear of detection and arrest.
