Amby Uneze in Owerri
The Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, and the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, have called for stronger collaboration among security agencies, state governments and local communities to enhance policing and improve public safety in Nigeria.
Uzodimma made the call while delivering a lecture at the 6th Conference and Retreat for Senior Police Officers (CARSPO) held yesterday at the Landmark Event Centre, Owerri.
The governor examined the ‘principle of subsidiarity and its relevance to policing and national security.’
The governor said the debate over state police should go beyond the issue of structure to determine how responsibility, knowledge and capacity could be deployed at the level where they would be most effective.
Drawing from Imo’s security experience since 2020, Uzodimma said the state’s challenges demonstrated the importance of local intelligence in distinguishing political violence from kidnapping, armed robbery and other criminal activities.
He said communities possessed vital information that security agencies could leverage, but stressed that such intelligence must be professionally assessed and acted upon within the law.
“The federal government and the Nigerian Police Force possess the means of coercion which no community organisation can replicate. Communities, however, possess priceless knowledge which no headquarters can manufacture,” Uzodimma said.
He advocated greater localisation of policing, insisting that any State police arrangement must guarantee professionalism, merit-based recruitment, constitutional allegiance and respect for citizens’ rights.
Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the governor urged security agencies to strengthen intelligence gathering and community partnerships, noting that electoral violence often begins long before election day.
Responding, the IGP, Disu, charged police officers who participated in the retreat to apply the knowledge gained to improve service delivery across the country.
Disu commended Uzodimma for his support for the Nigeria Police Force and disclosed that complaints against police officers had “reduced drastically,” attributing the improvement to the efforts of Commissioners of Police.
He urged officers to sustain the improvement and work towards reducing complaints to “almost near zero” by the end of the year.
“We will continue to do our best to protect lives and properties,” the IGP said.
The retreat featured lectures and discussions on policing, emotional intelligence, media relations, elections and other aspects of contemporary policing, including contributions from retired Inspectors-General of Police.
The high point of the three-day summit was the presentation of a certificate of appreciation to Uzodimma by the IGP in recognition of his support for the police.