The Guardian (Nigeria)

Group tasks Buhari on strengthen­ed police force to tackle insecurity

• 33 cultists to be arraigned in Anambra

- From Abdulganiy­u Alabi (Kaduna) and Dom (Ekpunobi (Onitsha)

THE Unified Nigerian Youth Forum (UNYF) has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to increase their into the Nigeria Police Force. The current manpower of the force is 6,000 but the group wants it reviewed to 15,000 personnel.

In a statement, the forum’s president, Abdulsalam Muhammed Kazeem, said : “The current recruitmen­t exercise by the Nigeria Police Force should be used to further create employment that could equally increase the rate of intelligen­ce gathering and boost the country’s security architectu­re.

“With the over 133,000 applicants that applied for the force, it shows the willingnes­s of Nigerians to serve their country if given the chance.”

Kareem further noted: “The Nigeria Police Force deserves more personnel and funding to enable them effectivel­y implement the transforma­tional agenda of the the current administra­tion.

“We all are not unaware of the recent unified data base that is, the integrated pay- roll and personal informatio­n system, LPPIS, which clearly shows that out of the less than 400,000 personnel of the entire force, we have over 70,000 ghost workers, the said number is far below the required standard or recommenda­tion of the united nation benchmark of one police officer to 400 people.

“If we are to go by that, it means the current police force needs to recruit at less 158,000 additional personnel to man over 180,000,000 Nigerians.

He appealed to ‘President Buhari to use his good office to increase the police force from 6000 personnel to 15,000.”

However, the Special Anti Cultism Squad (SPACS) in Anambra State is to arraign 33 suspected cultists and armed in various parts of the state.

Its Commander, Christophe­r Bassey who confirmed the arrests, the suspects would be arraigned in court this week to face a three-count charge of cultism, murder and conspiracy.

According to sources, 11 of them were arrested in Awka for cultism and murder while 12 others are standing trial for a two-count charge bordering on cultism and murder.

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