The Niger Delta Development and Monitoring Group, NIDDEMOG, has called for improved welfare, allowances and other incentives for officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force, saying better working conditions would strengthen their capacity to confront the country’s growing security challenges.
The Executive Director of the group, Chief Nengi James-Eriworio, Officer of the Order of the Niger, OON, made the call in a statement on Thursday, stressing the need for improved funding of the police and better living conditions for personnel.
Chief Nengi James, who is also a member of the oversight Board of the Violence Crimes Response Unit of the Nigeria Police Force, inaugurated under the directive of the Inspector-General of Police, said the condition of police barracks in some parts of the country remained unacceptable.
He said police personnel deserved decent accommodation and functional facilities, noting that some police formations had suffered prolonged neglect.
The NIDDEMOG chief also backed calls for the police to exit the Contributory Pension Scheme and be placed under a more suitable pension arrangement, such as the Defined Benefits Scheme.
He commended officers of the Bayelsa State Police Command for their commitment to duty, particularly personnel of the Violence Crimes Response Unit who participated in the rescue of a kidnap victim held for about 30 days in a remote coastal area of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area.
According to him, the operation demonstrated the challenges posed by criminal activities in the creeks and mangrove forests of the Niger Delta.
“I am a board member of the Violence Crimes Response Unit of the Nigeria Police Force, an oversight body inaugurated under the directive of the IGP.
“The unit has successfully and professionally handled one of the kidnapping and abduction cases in a remote, deep forest in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area,” he said.
Chief Nengi James said the development reinforced his advocacy for the establishment of mangrove swamp forest guards to complement existing security agencies in policing the difficult terrain.
He alleged that some kidnappers and other criminal elements had established camps and hideouts in the deep mangrove forests, from where they carried out activities including kidnapping for ransom, sea piracy and pipeline vandalism.
He said the security challenge required a coordinated response, particularly in areas where conventional policing was hampered by difficult terrain.
He said: “Some criminally minded people are building homes and camps and using them as criminal hideouts in the deep mangrove forests, from where they perpetrate crimes such as pipeline vandalisation, sea piracy and kidnapping for ransom.
“Therefore, there is a need for a security framework to police the mangrove swamp forests in the Niger Delta."
He called on the National Security Adviser and other security agencies to intensify surveillance and intelligence gathering in the creeks and mangrove forests across the Niger Delta.
Chief Nengi James said strengthening security in the region would require sustained investment in personnel, equipment, welfare and specialised policing structures capable of operating effectively in the riverine terrain.
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