The new Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun has taken up his post at the police headquarters in Abuja, promising to make community policing work.
Egbetokun made the statement on Wednesday when he officially took charge of the Nigerian IGP from retired Usman Baba.
The new IGP warned police that it will not tolerate abuse of power, corruption, and misconduct, saying misguided officers will face stiff penalties.
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He also vowed to unveil his strategies and tactics in the coming days and months to secure the country and protect Nigerians from all forms of security challenges including banditry and armed attacks.
According to him, every law-abiding citizen will be considered involved in the fight against the crime entrusted to him.
He added that human information collected by communities would be used to fight crime, alongside the collection of technical intelligence.
Egbetokun said:
“On community policing, there is a lot that we are going to do differently in the implementation of the community policing strategies that we are operating presently
“I discussed that with the retiring IG, my predecessor just before we came here and he told me all the problems we are facing with the implementation of the community policing strategies. We are not going to set it aside, we are going to continue with it but we are going to review a lot of things. We are going to make it work.
“I said that just to express how very anxious I am to start working and to also convey the message that I am aware that there are enemies that we need to fight together.
“We all need to collaborate together to be able to surmount the security challenges facing our country today. It is going to a collective responsibility. All of us will be involved; everybody will be a policeman. We are going to partner with every group, every law-abiding individual.
“Apart from technical intelligence, we are also going to rely so much on human intelligence available in our communities. We are going to be proactive in our approach to solving our community problems.”
Furthermore, the new Chief of Police said that the salaries of previously hired police officers were already being reviewed and that salaries, arrears, and allowances will be paid by the end of the month.
