Isyaku Mohammed, deputy inspector-general (DIG) of police in charge of the north-central zone, says terrorists and other criminal elements will not be allowed to join the force.
Mohammed spoke on Thursday during a stakeholders’ meeting in
Ilorin, the Kwara state capital.
The meeting was attended by officers and men of the Kwara
police command, traditional rulers, religious leaders, transport union leaders
and other stakeholders.
The DIG urged community heads, traditional rulers, religious
leaders and security chiefs not to recommend repentant criminals for
recruitment into security agencies.
According to him, the police are taking measures to ensure
that terrorists and other criminal elements do not infiltrate the force.
“The only thing we can do is to protect our own territory
and ensure that such repented people do not find their way into the Nigeria
Police,” he said.
“And we are doing everything possible to ensure that not
just repented criminals, even bad boys, we don’t allow them to find their way
into the Nigeria Police.
“So, you our stakeholders, community heads and others, don’t
sign for them, identify them, expose them. We will not allow them into the
system.”
Mohammed said traditional rulers and divisional police
officers (DPOs) should refrain from endorsing individuals with criminal
records.
The DIG said he had previously served in the north-east,
where the military accepted and rehabilitated former Boko Haram members under
the federal government’s deradicalisation programme.
He said many communities rejected the reintegration of the
former insurgents.
“Traditional rulers and DPOs do sign for those people. And I
don’t think they’ll recommend anybody that has been engaged in criminality in
the name of ‘I have repented’,” he said.
Mohammed also shared that a joint border patrol would soon
be inaugurated to tackle crime across Kwara’s border corridors.
He noted that Kwara shares boundaries with Ekiti, Oyo, Kogi
and Niger states, as well as the Republic of Benin.
The DIG said Kayode Egbetokun, inspector-general of police,
had directed all DIGs to visit states within their zones to engage
stakeholders, assess security challenges and identify solutions.
“The joint border patrol would be done across its border
corridors to prevent criminality and criminals,” he added.
Mohammed also advocated community policing, describing it as
an effective tool for crime prevention.
He added timely information sharing and youth engagement as
key measures for strengthening security and making young people more
productive.
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