Stakeholders at a two-day workshop on Citizens’ Engagement on Policing Reforms on Wednesday in Asaba called for increased manpower for security agencies in Delta.
They noted that inadequate manpower and poor working conditions, among other challenges, have hampered effective policing by security agencies over the years.
The workshop, organised by the CLEEN Foundation, a Non-governmental organisation (NGO), with support from the MacArthur Foundation, drew participants across the various security agencies in Delta.
The workshop participants were from the Police, Immigration, Correctional Services, DSS, NSCDC, State Ministry of Justice, NBA, FIDA, and Civil societies.
In an opening remark, Mr. Nnamdi Odo, CLEEN Foundation’s programme officer, said the workshop provides a platform for citizens to engage with security agencies in advocacy for reforms that would improve policing efficiency.
In his goodwill message, the Delta Commissioner for Police, Mr. Femi Abaniwonda, lauded the workshop organizers for their initiative in charting a discourse for better policing in Nigeria.
Abaniwonda, represented by the Command’s Officer-Charge of Legal Matters (OC Legal), CSP Gladys Imegu, said the police in Delta were committed to improving policing and effectively dispensing justice.
Imegwu, who was accompanied by SP Irabor Sunday, a legal officer in the state command, expressed optimism that the workshop’s outcome would yield positive results.
“I must commend the organisers of this workshop for the initiative at bringing the citizens to engage with the security agencies in charting a way forward for better policing in our society.
“As a lead stakeholder in security, the Nigeria police is very much committed to the dispensation of justice and will continue to work for the good of the society.
“However, the police have continued to operate under challenging conditions, notably among them, shortage of manpower and the uncooperative attitude of the citizens to give information to aid of job”, Imegu said.
In a Charter of Demand presented to the Delta Commissioner of Police, the Coordinator of the Delta Observatory Group, Mr. Chucks Okpunor, highlighted some of the observations and recommendations by stakeholders regarding repositioning policing in the state.
“Policing reforms in Nigeria have been described over time as motion without movement as successive administrations failed to drive home the key reform recommendations effectively
contained in different presidential police reform committees that were set up in the past.
“Though the reforms lack the political will needed for holistic implementation, however, there has been an incremental effort through legislation since 2015.
“Nigeria witnessed the passage of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015, the Passage of the Anti-Torture Act 2017, the Police Trust Fund Act 2019, the amendment of the Nigeria Correctional Service Act 2019 and the successful amendment of the Police Act 2020.
“These legislations have provided the legal provisions needed for improved policing and effective justice delivery in Nigeria; however, implementation and compliance by state actors have remained a challenge.
“In Delta, the situation is the same as the state government in her effort to reform policing in the state established the Delta Security Trust Fund through the state law in 2014 and amended
the same law in 2016.
“The state government went further to domesticate the administration of
criminal justice law with key innovative provisions intended to improve policing and criminal”, Okpunor noted.
In the charter of demand, the stakeholders expressed displeasure over instances of poor conduct in policing operations by the security agencies in Delta.
They observed that the operations of the security agencies are characterized by unprofessional conduct and a lack of synergy among them.
The charter also noted the numerous cases of unlawful arrest and detention, unnecessary stop and search, abuse of power, corruption and human rights violations of residents.
It called for the provision of modern policing and equipment for the security
personnel and demanded that the state government carry out a needs assessment of modern policing equipment needed for policing operations.
In the charter of demand, the stakeholders argued for Increasing the manpower of local and community policing institutions in Delta and ensuring adequate remuneration and working conditions for security personnel.
They also advocated for the provision of adequate insurance for the members of the local and community policing institutions in the state and established monthly citizen-security engagements.
It further called on the state government to support the National Human Rights Commission in the state by holding monthly citizen-security engagements in Delta as a platform for the security agencies and residents to brainstorm on issues of security concern.