By Laleye Dipo in Minna
Henceforth newly recruited police constables are to be posted to their states of origin, the Inspector General of Police Ibrahim Idris disclosed in Minna Niger State on Friday.
Alhaji Ibrahim Idris said apart from posting the recruits to their states of origin, majority of them would also be deployed to their local government areas.Â
The Inspector General of Police stated in a message to the passing out of police recruits at the police college in the Niger State capitalÂ
 The IGP who was represented by the Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of Finance and administration Alhaji Shuaibu Lawal said the new posting policy was to give vent to the new “community policing policy”.Â
To show the seriousness of the force to the new policy, only four out of the 464 policemen that passed out were retained in Minna with two each posted to the ICT and police training schools respectively.Â
The IGP also disclosed that 956 specialists drawn from the 10,000 approved for the force had passed out as cadet ASP, and Inspectors while 767 other cadet ASPs and 666 cadet inspectors were being trained and would pass out in December.Â
Alhaji Idris reminded the federal government of his request for approval to recruit additional 31,000 policemen annually for the next five years to,” make the Nigeria police operate within the United Nations approved ratio of 1:400Â
“Currently, the Nigeria police force is operating at a ratio of 1:600 which is far below the approved United Nations ratio,” Idris said.Â
He reminded officers and men of the force that the public had high expectation of them saying, “The protection of lives and property of the citizenry, enforcement of all laws and regulations and prevention of crimes lie squarely on police shoulders.
 “The police cannot afford to disappoint the populace by allowing crime and criminality to thrive in the country. You must therefore put in your utmost best to maintain law and order at all times.”Â
Niger State Deputy governor, Alhaji Ahmad Mohammad Ketso who represented Governor Abubakar Sani Bello challenged the police force to “look inwards and think of how to confront the new forms of crimes and criminality that pervades our society”.Â
Ketso congratulated the new policemen and urged them to serve with “due determination and dedication to service so that you can contribute your quota to the peace efforts of the government.”
