A former Assistant Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Dennis Amachree, has said that the Nigerian government cannot continue with actions that relegate officers and men of the Nigeria Police in the scheme of things and expect extreme performance.
Amachree, who made the disclosure while speaking recently during an interview, said the enthusiasm of the policemen is insufficient because they are not well taken care of.
“A police officer who has to buy his uniform becomes a problem when he gets onto the streets,” Amachree said.
According to the former chairman of the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS International), Nigeria Chapter, the police in Nigeria have been disregarded for too long.
With about 400,000 policemen saddled with the responsibility of enforcing the law and ensuring the safety, health, and possessions of about 200 million citizens, Amachree said, the country is under-policed.
The former DSS chieftain also expressed the belief that training for Police personnel at all levels must be upgraded and be continuous. He also added that the art of policing must be brought down to the level of the grassroots and general populace, so that all citizens of the country can adequately partake in actions that safeguard their own security, rather than leaving such solely to personnel of the Nigeria Police.