The popular phrase ‘Police is your friend’ has over the years lost its potency among Nigerians. The Nigerian Police Force is however putting measures in place to resuscitate a more cordial relationship with the members of the public with the aim to jointly fight crime and maintain peace through community policing.

This decision was made known by the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Mr Abiodun Adekunle Odude during an exclusive interview with CEOAfrica on its Online Television Programme, ‘Community Today’, on Thursday 29th June, 2017.

Mr Odude, a graduate of Demography and Statistics from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, gave enlightenment about the importance of community policing to maintenance of peace and security in the society. According to him, “Community policing is the concept of policing the society with the people you are working with. In other words, it is involving the community in the process of policing.

“Policing involves providing law and order and to make sure that the society is safe for all citizens. But it can’t be done by the Police alone. The Police has a staff strength of about 350, 000 as against a population of about 160 million. So if we are going to police this population, we need them to work with us. So, this community policing concept is to work with the people and the Inspector General of Police is very passionate about it. He wants us to work with the people we are policing so that we can achieve maximum result."

Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Mr Abiodun Adekunle Odude (L) with Mr Cletus Ilobanafor (R) during an exclusive interview with CEOAfrica

The Commissioner of Police further mentioned that the Force has established several community policing groups like the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC), adding that the Inspector General of Police has also established the Eminent Persons Group all performing the responsibility of community policing.

“We have so many groups that we are working with in the society to make sure that we all work collectively. We want to build a synergy with the members of the public to make sure that we police them in a way that they will receive the maximum security benefit,” the CP explained.

It would be recalled that CEOAfrica reported last month that a Professor of Counselling and Criminal Studies at the University of Ibadan, Professor Oyesoji Aremu in his Inaugural lecture titled ‘The Trinity’ and the Missing Mission’ gave an exposition of how the disconnection of the Police from the public has created a gap in effectively policing the country.

Professor Oyesoji Aremu speaking with CEOAfrica on Effective Policing

Professor Aremu had explained to CEOAfrica that there should be a strong interrelationship between the Polity, the Police and the Public, adding that the public must be willing to partner and cooperate with the police in order to effectively fight crime in the country.

The Professor who affirmed that the Police is understaffed, recommended in his lecture that since the few policemen in the country have to serve a very large population, a synergy of the Police and the Public will result in a functional and effective security agency in Nigeria.

The Oyo State Commissioner of Police further allayed the fear of the public in whistle-blowing crimes in their community, stating that the modern Police Force is a more sophisticated security agency committed to protecting law abiding citizens. “The Police we have in 2017 is not the Police of 1986 or 1920. We are to some extent a modern Police Force and people should have confidence in the Police. We are not witches and wizards. If we don’t have information, how can we work?” the CP queried.

Reacting to the negative public perception of the Nigerian Police, the Police Commissioner, although acknowledged that changing public’s perception cannot happen overnight, he however assured that the Police is embarking on public enlightenment programmes to inform the public about the importance of partnering with the Police. “We are inviting the public to come and partner with us and to change the wrong perception they have about us. If you come closer to a person, you will see the person for exactly who he is and what he is,” the Police Chief stressed.

Having understood the importance of a collaborative partnership between the public and the police as enunciated by Professor Oyesoji Aremu and having realised the efforts of the Nigerian Police Force in fostering community policing as explained by the Oyo Police Commissioner Odude, it is our hope that Nigerians will take advantage of this synergy to combat crime, foster peace and revive the old saying that ‘Police is your friend’.