Former Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, has advocated a fixed tenure for Inspector General of Police, to insulate the police from partisan politics.
To this end, he wants the Nigerian Police Reform Trust Fund and Related Matters 2012 bill, which would enable this, passed into law.
Arase’s recommendation is contained in his book, entitled: “Law On Prevention And Detection Of Crimes By The Police In Nigeria’’, to be presented on Tuesday, at the Congress Hall, Transcorp Hilton, Abuja,
Former governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke, is billed to chair the occasion.
The book examined the legal framework for the prevention and detection of crimes in Nigeria by the Nigeria police, with recommendations that the police and policing should undergo modernization, with rebalancing of the criminal justice system to protect the law abiding majority, suspects, victims, witnesses and other stakeholders.
The ex-police boss said that: “There should also be police orientation and the objective, as well as the target must be people-based, to cut down crimes, and not only in the interest of the rich and propertied class, but also the poor and the lowly class.”
He also suggested that the investigative tool of the police should be reformed and modernised in line with the United Kingdom Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, which mandates the police to inform a suspects of his right to legal advice during investigation.
“Some of these provisions, which are in Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015, should be taught to all police officers with a view to re-orientate them on the dawn of new colonial justice administration. “Intelligence-led policing should be reinvigorated and reflected in the police (Amendment) bill in order to match changing tactics and emerging endemic crimes as terrorism, guerrilla tactics and espionage.
There should be improved image of the police not just in form of rebranding, but orientational change towards civility, friendliness and zero tolerance of corruption to improve the performance of the police in the eye of the public”, Arase said.
