Chairman, Police Service Commission (PSC), Dr Solomon Arase, has pledged to restore peace, build trust between the police and the commission and resolve all knotty issues. He made this known during a stakeholders’ parley with the civil society organisations in Jabi, Abuja.
He pledged to bequeath “a police force of Nigerians’ dreams and aspirations, able and willing to provide services in the most transparent, responsible and responsive manner.”
He assured the stakeholders that being a former police officer would not impede on his sense of justice, fairness and equity, saying he would leave his footprints “in sands of time and grow a police force that is mentally mobile.”
Arase noted: “My appointment came at a critical time in our national life; when the commission and the Nigeria Police Force have engaged in a seemingly intractable disputations over roles and powers which regrettably compounded and degenerated into series of litigations.
“The embarrassing scenario was informed and fuelled by preconceptions, misconceptions, and prejudices against each other, founded on mutual distrust and suspicion. Also, in the raging disconcertment and belligerency, it is the Nigerian people who suffer as neither PSC not NPF can function effectively in delivering on their mandates without the support and cooperation of the other, especially, when both institutions are supposed to be mentally reinforcing are now at daggers drawn.”
Arase believed his appointment was a conscious effort by the President to bring about the harmony between these two critical institutions of government:
“I set out with a vision and mission to de-escalate and contain the raging conflict, douse the disquiet and restore peace, understanding and cooperation between the two institutions necessary for my actualisation of Security Sector Reforms (SSR) in Nigeria.
“Peace is being restored and trust being built between PSC and NPF. l can assure that in no distant time all knotty issues which occasioned the conflict will be amicably resolved in a win, win situation for both institutions.
“Also, the various problems facing police and policing in Nigeria will soon be over. The only solution will be the collective intervention, collaboration and participation of all stakeholders in the SSR.
“The PSC cannot effectively deliver on its mandate without the corresponding support of the civil society organisations, training and retraining programmes of both personnel of the PSC and NPF as well as helping them with logistics that will aid in carrying out their functions.”
Arase approved the dismissal of Assistant Superintendent of Police and the reduction in ranks of the Assistant of the Commissioner of Police,
Chief Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent. The plenary also approved the promotion of 109 senior staff of the commission.
PSC also approved the appointments and the 12 commissioners of police to different state commands.
Arase met with CLeen Foundation and the leadership of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ). He said indiscipline would no longer be tolerated in the police force.
He called for assistance from CLeen Foundation: “Police need the best hands.” He commended the foundation for its positive impacts in policing in Nigeria.