BY JENNIFER JOHN / OWERRI
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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has lauded the authority of the Nigeria Police, saying it is one of the Nigeria’s most enduring national assets.
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Tinubu who made the assertion in his keynote address at the opening ceremony of Nigeria Police annual conference/retreat held at Landmark Event Center, Owerri, Imo State, yesterday, said the Nigeria Police is arguably, the largest in Africa and one of the most successful in police duties in the world.
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The President, represented by the Honourable Minister of Police Affairs, Senator Ibrahim Gaidam, urged the Senior Police Officers not to allow the scrutiny and criticism from Nigerians to deter them from doing their best in discharging their duties.
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He promised to continue to invest resources to improve quality of police personnel, upgrade equipment and acquire more security assets, to make the job of policing easier, as well as review the wages and living condition of Officers and Men of the police force, in line with the current realities.
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Tinubu acknowledged that the complexities of modern criminality requires that security agencies collaborate among themselves and share intelligence to be able to address the nation’s security challenges.
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In his address, Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State said for the fact that high profile groups and national institutions like the Nigeria Police had been flocking to the state recently for their national conferences and seminars are clear pointers to the fact that peace has returned to the state.
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Government, he stressed, has returned adequate security to the state.
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He commended the police for their gallantry in the processes that led to the return of peace to the state as they worked tirelessly in synergy with their sister security agencies to make it happen.
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The governor regretted that some of them (security operatives) paid the supreme prize on the process, re-emphasizing his commitment to always standing by the families of the “fallen heroes”.
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He observed that the police have the most crucial role to play in fostering national security, through enhanced internal security, which aligns with the theme of the conference.
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The governor made case for adequate equipment of the Nigeria Police Force to make it more effective and efficient.
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He called on the National Assembly to come up with a Bill for a Special Police Fund where national and sub national governments should agree for percentage from the Federation Account to be reserved for continuous and sufficient funding of the Nigerian Police, while high net worth corporate bodies like Banks and Oil Companies should be made to mandatorily contribute a specified percentage of their annual profits to the police fund.
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According to him, the Imo State Government under his leadership has been doing its best to assist all the security agencies in the state, as his government has been doing its best in providing them the necessary equipment and logistics, even as families of those who paid the supreme prices in the line of duties have not been abandoned by his administration.
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He assured the gathering that his government would continue to support the police and other security agencies in the State in the discharge of their duties.
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The governor charged them to be professional as usual in the exercise of their constitutional assignment during the November 11 governorship election in the state.
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Also in a keynote speech, the President of INTERPOL, Major General Ahmed Naser Al Raisi, said the police has the power to enhance security, promote corporation and facilitate knowledge sharing.
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He noted that the Nigerian Police Force has continued to achieve the vision of its founding fathers of making Nigeria more secured and safer for everyone, adding that since joining INTERPOL in 1960, the Nigeria Police has played a key role in tackling regional and international crimes.
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Earlier in his address, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kayode Agbetokun described the conference as a unique gathering of strategic security managers, comprising of Deputy Inspectors General of Police, Assistant Inspectors General of Police, Commissioners of Police and other heads of strategic formations of the Nigerian Police Force, which represents the broadest, most diverse and richest professional engagement by Senior Police Officers in the country.
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The theme of this year’s conference was entitled: Fostering Economic Prosperity, Social Integration and Political Development, Through Enhanced Internal Security Mechanism”.
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