Ilorin indigenes advocate community policing to tackle security challenges

Security experts and community leaders in Ilorin have advocated for the adoption of Community Policing as a panacea to tackle security challenges facing the country.

They said security issues are joint responsibilities of the community and security agencies.

They made the call at the 21st annual lecture/dinner organised by Third Estate, a sociocultural club in Ilorin Emirate held at Kwara Hotel on Sunday.

Those who spoke were Ambassador Usman Abdulazeez, former a diplomat, Alhaji Adisa Bolanta, a retired Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) and Alhaji Abdul Hakeem Mustapha (SAN).

Speaking on the topic, “Proactive response to Security issues in Ilorin Emirate”, Ambassador Abdulazeez, a former President of Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union (IEDPU), said the security challenge experienced in Ilorin Emirate between 2012 and 2018 was reduced drastically through joint collaboration between the people of the community and the police.

“Through the joint efforts of the people and the police we were able to arrest 42 cult members, many hemp smokers and hemp sellers, ritualists and kidnappers who were operating in Ilorin metropolis and were able to avert a religious crisis on June 3, 2018.

“That is why we were able to combat the challenge and that is why we have low crime rate in Ilorin Emirate today,” he said.

Abdulazeez suggested that the police should emphasise on community policing and reintroduce the 1978 model of recruitment whereby policemen were posted to their local governments and states of origin.

In his contribution, AIG Bolanta, said that solving security problems was a joint collaboration between the community and security agencies.

He warned that posting policemen to their state of origin was dangerous because of population explosion and technological advancement and it should be done with caution.

Also in his contribution, Barrister Mustapha, SAN, said that adequate punishment should be given to those involved in kidnapping with their sponsors and arms suppliers identified and punished.