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Participants at the youth summit on Police Reforms
By Akanji Alowolodu, Bauchi
It has been observed that the gap between the Police and the youths in Nigeria is getting wider every day to the extent that if left unattended, may lead to a catastrophe.
The observation was made by the National Coordinator of a coalition of NGOs under the aegis of Network of Police Reforms in Nigeria (NOPRIN) Foundation, Ikule Emmanuel while speaking at a Youth Summit on Police Reforms in Bauchi on Wednesday.
He therefore called for an increased synergy between security agents and citizens in the country in order to reduce the rate of human rights violations.
The two day summit on Strengthening Police Reforms in Nigeria has as theme “Youth Inclusion in Police Reforms”, which is taking place at Pali Resort Hall in Bauchi.
According to the National Coordinator, NOPRIN Foundation is a network of 67 NGOs spread across the states of the federation, working on Police Reforms that will be responsive to the needs of the common man as well as the protection of the lives of the citizens of the country.
He said that the aim of the summit is to give the youths the opportunity to give their inputs in the issue of Police reforms, thereby fostering a community police relationship.
He observed that, “We have identified that there is a gap between the police and the youths.When Issues are left unattended to, it tends to widen the gap between the police and the community.So there is the need for us to come together and have a clear level working ground so that the country can develop”
He added that, “There have been a lot of series of human rights abuses which are under reported in the country, particularly in the North-east and North-west zone. As an organization, we have organized public tribunals in four geopolitical zones of Imo, Rivers, Abuja and Lagos state where victims of human rights abuses can report and get justice “
Ikule Emmanuel stressed that, “We document cases of human rights abuses and contact our member organizations who will provide legal services for victims of human rigth abuses for free. We try to address the problem from the level of the community before it escalates “.
While presenting a paper entitled, “Tackling insecurity in the North-east of Nigeria: Collaborative role of Youths and Police in crime detection and Human rights Abuses”, a Senior Lecturer of the Department of Business Administration and Management, Federal Polytechnic Bauchi and former Vice Chairman of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) Bauchi branch, Barrister Aniekan Mende Esq, recommended that to restore security, peace and order in the North-East region, kidnappers, bandits and insurgents must be pro-actively tackled by the police in collaboration with other security stakeholders, including Youth groups in rural communities.
He stated that adequate infrastructure should be created to engage the youths who may be easily recruited by criminal groups to cause insecurity in the region, stressing that gainful engagements would take minds of youths away from crimes.
