Mr Fimihan Adeoye, Retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG), has said that trust and collaboration with the Police and other security agencies were very essential for improved security in Nigeria.
Adeoye said this at a lecture delivered at at a stakeholders engagement organised by the Police Command in Oyo State to commemorate the maiden Nigeria Police Week on Friday in Ibadan.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme of the lecture was “Inclusive Policing: A Panacea to Improved Security and Economic Growth in Oyo State”
Adeoye, who was a guest lecturer at the event, said that there could not be inclusive policing when citizens don’t trust and collaborate with the police and other security agencies in the country.
“Policing should not be left in the hands of security agencies in the country alone, it should be the responsibility of everyone.
“Trust should also be reciprocal in as much as it is necessary for the police to earn the trust of the people, people too must strive to ensure that the police win their trust.
“The police and other security agencies should ensure nothing is done to betray the trust of the people,” he said.
The retired AIG further called for adequate manpower and equipment for the the police especially at the police division headquarters.
Adeoye noted that security threat and breaches now occur more at the grassroots than the city.
He said that security of the country was imperative for its economic development and progress and stability.
Earlier, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Johnson Adenola, said that the goal of the command was to create a policing framework that was responsive to the needs of the citizens regardless of their background and locations.
Adenola said that the lecture would shed more light on the roles of everyone in securing the society.
Others present at the event were traditional leaders, religious leaders and other stakeholders in the society