Buhari Trained 25,000 Community Policing Officers – Presidency

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina has said that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has trained 25,000 Community Policing Officers in Police Colleges across the country.

Adesina, in a statement on Monday in Abuja, said the interventions of the Buhari’s government had imparted on nearly all sectors of the national landscape.

According to the presidential aide, the trained officers would serve as liaisons between the police and their local communities and also assist in intelligence gathering.

He explained that the president, in September, 2020, assented to the Nigeria Police Bill, 2020; the first fundamental reform of police enabling legislation since the colonial Police Act of 1943.

He said the administration approved the Presidential Roadmap on Police Reform, establishing the Police Reform & Transformation Office (PORTO), in the office of the Chief of Staff (COS) to the President, to coordinate police reforms.

“This Team has also developed a Presidential Roadmap on Police Reforms which captures the President’s vision for legitimate, accountable and community-involved policing in Nigeria.

“The Buhari Administration is rolling out the Police Specialized Services Automation Project (Po-SSAP) to block financial leakages and deepen fiscal accountability within the Force,” he said.

Adesina said the administration also granted Presidential approval for the commencement of the Community Policing Initiative nationwide and the release of take-off funding.