Senator Warns Against Police Trust Fund Scrap: Ex-Police Officers

Two retired police officers and a senator on Wednesday rejected calls from some quarters to scrap the Nigeria Police Trust Fund, which was established in 2020 to address the Nigeria Police Force’s funding gap.

Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court in Abuja, while delivering judgment in a suit filed by the Rivers State Government challenging the deductions from the Federation Account, held that the Federal Government had violated Sections 161 and 162 of the 1999 Constitution by making direct allocations to the NPTF from the Federation Account.
In separate interviews yesterday, Austin Iwar, a retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police, and Lawrence Alobi, a former Commissioner of Police in the Federal Capital Territory, criticized “some people’s plans to scuttle the laudable initiative.”

“I was one of those who fronted for the Police Trust Fund to be established,” Alobi said. During the public hearing at the National Assembly, I was one of those who presented letters.

“The Trust Fund was intended to be a police intervention fund because funding has been a challenge; however, it has been hijacked by politicians, rendering it ineffective, and thus the purpose for which it was established cannot be realized.”

“However, what is the alternative for those calling for its abolition? When you say change a system, you have to think about what the alternative is; this isn’t a solution, and scrapping it isn’t an option.

“For the time being, the Fund is necessary because the police have received inadequate funding over the years, which has had a negative impact on the economy of the police force in terms of equipment, training, welfare, and infrastructure development, among other things.”

“If the trust fund is eliminated, a small percentage of private businesses will contribute a portion of their profits to help the police and fund the police.”

In response to the argument that the fund’s revenue should not come from the Federation Account, Alobi pointed out that the Force is responsible for all 36 states and 774 local government areas in the country.

Iwar, for one, believes it would be foolish to dismantle what Nigeria spent many years building before becoming independent.

“How can you say you want to scrap a strategic plan established by law to assist in the development of the police force and the provision of facilities?” Anyone who says that despises the police! He stated, “They are doing a lot for the cops.”

Senator Gershom Bassey (Cross River) stated that the NPTF should not be abolished, but rather strengthened through contributions from all Nigerians in order to better equip officers “who are frequently outgunned by bandits and terrorists due to a lack of sophisticated weapons.”

According to a statement from the NPTF’s Press and Public Affairs, the agency purchased 200 operational vehicles, 1,300 ballistic helmets, and bulletproof vests from the Defense Industry Corporation of Nigeria, in accordance with a presidential executive order to patronize locally-made products.

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“This year, the focus will be primarily on infrastructure, with new barracks, police stations, and training institutions being built, as well as dilapidated structures being refurbished,” the report stated.