Why We Host Top Police Officers on Retreat on Internal Security- IGP Mohammed Adamu

Why We Host Top Police Officers on Retreat on Internal Security- IGP Mohammed Adamu
(A Remark at Opening Ceremony of Retreat for Senior Police Officers in Lagos)

There is a strong correlation between personnel capacity and organizational performance. This fact is even more evident in the Nigeria Police Force, given the increasingly complex and dynamic nature of crime that we, as the primary law enforcement agency, grapples with routinely, the risks we are regularly exposed to, and our obligation to perform our duties within the dictates of the law.

The inter-mix of these requires the constant acquisition of professional knowledge by all police personnel, particularly, those at strategic management level. This is with a view to acquiring the capacity to dissect threats, appreciate complex security and crime situations, and take decisions, at times in split seconds, towards neutralising such threats or resolving identified crimes.

The idea of this Retreat is, therefore, in furtherance to our policing vision which emphasizes capacity building as a pathway to enhancing effective police service delivery in the country. We firmly believe that with the constant engagement of strategic managers and consistent training and retraining of personnel of the Force across all ranks, the expectation of the Federal Government and indeed, the nation at large for a Police Force that is knowledge-driven, rule of law-guided, community-oriented, technology-compliant, and intelligence-led shall be achieved.

Through a professional forum of this nature, the personnel of the Nigeria Police shall be expected to acquire a high-level of professionalism and competence required to neutralize any threat to our national security and give meaning to the Constitutional provision that ‘the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government’.

Gathered here for this 3-day Retreat and Conference are a collection of all officers occupying strategic leadership positions in the Nigeria Police Force. This comprises of all Commissioners of Police, Assistant Inspectors General of Police, and Deputy Inspectors General of Police, and our mission is in twofold.

Firstly, we intend to utilize this forum to undertake a holistic evaluation of the current internal security threats and crime dynamics in the country, identify factors engendering crimes, and project into the future. This is with a view to identifying human capacity requirements for addressing current and emerging threats to our internal security and evolving pathways towards addressing such.

Secondly, this programme is expected to avail participating Police Officers of the opportunity to draw on the expertise of seasoned facilitators and the rich professional knowledge of the array of police officers here gathered. We shall also leverage on the network to be established towards enhancing peer-review towards engendering a broader understanding of our mandate and enhance our operational capacity.

With these anticipated outcomes in mind, I charge all participants to take advantage of this unique opportunity, give their utmost attention, and ensure that the purposes of this engagement are achieved. As you all know, the security threats being faced in our dear nation require urgent and well-thought out solutions. Let us, therefore, roll up our sleeves and rededicate ourselves to our statutory duties in order to provide security that will not only place us above the criminal elements, but guarantee that we deliver our services in the most professional, civil, and lawful manner.

May I also seize this opportunity to again re-assure the entire citizens of this great country of our firm determination and clear vision to evolve a new Police Force for the nation, and to explore all available strategies in guaranteeing their security and safety. This is our Mandate. It is, therefore, our obligation to attain it. We, however, solicit the continued support of the citizens in the process.

Mohammed Adamu
Inspector General of Police