POLICE/KD: KADUNA STATE POLICE COMMAND UNVEILS STRATEGIES TO PREVENT CRIME AND………….
By:Safiya Abdulrahim Dabban
Kaduna Police Command Unveils Strategies To Prevent Crime and Criminality.
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The Kaduna State Police Command has expressed commitment to Strengthen relationship with religious leaders as part of its Community Policing Strategy toward crime prevention and control.
The Commissioner of Police in the state CP. Musa Yusuf Garba stated this during an Emergency Security Meeting with leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN in Kaduna.
The Certified Security Investigator, and Community Policing Expert pointed out that the security meeting provided a platform for him to talk to religious leaders on measures put in place to tackle the challenges of insecurity that ranges from banditry, kidnapping and terrorism among others.
The Commissioner stated that, as part of crime prevention strategy, he had directed all Divisional Police Officers, DPOs in the state to get rid of all drugs dealers and local sellers within their areas of jurisdiction, noting that, drugs are causative agents that predisposed people into committing various kind of crimes.
Describing religious leaders as intergral sub sector in the fight against criminality, he stressed the need for a concerted effort through intelligence gathering, which he said would enable the police execute its mandate, and at the same time curb the global phenomenon.
“The method of meeting with the religious leaders inside their Churches and mosques to talk to them is that, one pastor or Imam can have a followership of more than three thousand people, and that is like an entire community, and how can i accessed such community, it’s through the Clergies, because the people respect the Clergies more than anything else”
“Another method I employ is to find the causative agent, because I can’t understand how a sensible person will wake up and carry arms to kill his fellow human being, I discovered that, it’s when they are intoxicated, and out of their senses that they can think of killing another person,
“The reason why I’m here is to send you this message, we know that we cannot do it alone without you, I want to tell you that, you are an intergral part of our work, without you, we cannot achieve anything, please give us information” explained the CP.
The Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN in Kaduna, Reverend John Joseph Hayap said the security meeting was a welcome development, considering the fact that it provided a platform for them to be engaged productively on what roles they can play to address the security challenges bedeviling the state.
Reverend Hayap said as a Faith Community, they had always believed that security is a job for everybody, and always wanted to be part of what they can do for the peace of the State, but lamented that the system of engagements were put behind by the previous administration.
The CAN Chairman thanked the Commissioner for bringing the initiative, and expressed optimism that in no distant time, the narrative of the state would changed from a city that had been under siege to a city that is experiencing peace, unity and tranquility.
“Unfortunately in the past, this system of engagement was put behind, and so instead of getting people’s view, and hearing from them to know what their concerns are, what we saw coming from the media is accusations,
“We thank the commissioner for saying look, let’s come back to the basics, let’s engage the people, let’s hear from the people, and today, he has heard from us,
“You can see that the questions that the people asked are with concerns because this is the everyday reality that they are facing, we believe that going forward, it’ll not been long, the story of Kaduna would Change from a city that has been under siege to a city that is experiencing peace, unity and tranquility “, said Rev. Hayap.
Some of the Clergymen who spoke to radio Nigeria Rev. Yunusa Nmadu, and Ignitious Marwa expressed happiness and requested that such security meetings be hold periodically.
They stressed that, the command should always furnished them with early warning signs and ensure it remained proactive toward responding to their plight in terms of danger and security crisis.
The Security Meeting which was interactive featured questions and answers, as well as recommendations which the commissioner promised to act on them toward ensuring the collective effort of the religious leaders were given adequate consideration in the interest of peace, Unity and development of the state.