IGP: Nigeria needs 190,000 more police officers

Olukayode Egbetokun, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), claims that a lack of manpower is impeding the agency’s attempts to combat crime.

He claims that in order to successfully secure the nation, the police would require an additional 190,000 officers.

This was said by IGP Egbetokun during a paper presentation to the Senior Executive Course 45 on Wednesday at Kuru, Plateau State’s National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies.

According to Egbetokun, Nigeria has a police-citizen ratio of 1 to 650 when the UN suggested one police officer for every 460 inhabitants.

Therefore, in order to be on pace with the United Nations’ suggested ratio, the NPF needs an additional 190,000 workers, he said.

According to the police head, the government’s drive toward industrialization would become unachievable if the nation were not well-policed.

The IGP continued, “Therefore, the insufficient manpower, which has led to a low police presence, could impair the government’s industrialisation initiatives.”

Industrial facilities could become targets for criminal activity and impede economic development if there is insufficient police presence and response capacity.

The Nigerian police’s lack of resources, he continued, is also limiting their ability to protect the vital infrastructure of the nation.

In order to examine how the police can best address the three major concerns of industrialization, energy security, and climate change, IGP is hosting a meeting on Wednesday as part of defense and security studies as part of their research for the year.