The Nigeria Police has commissioned critical operational vehicles in the drive to re-define policing across the country
At the commissioning of the security assets by President Muhammadu Buhari, in Abuja on Friday, the Inspector General of Police, (IGP) Mohammed Adamu listed the critical operational vehicles to include 139 Hilux patrol vehicles, 46 police smart surveillance vehicles with CCTV cameras.
Others include 11 tactical operations vehicles fitted with state-of-the-art surveillance equipment; 9 Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs), 5 troop carriers, and 7 anti-riot water cannon trucks. Also commissioned was the Nigeria Police National Command and Control Centre (NPF-C4i) as well as the first phase of the Nigeria Police Crime and Incident Data Base (NPC & IDB) Centre.
The IGP said the acquisition of the police smart surveillance vehicles would help increase the momentum of fighting crime in the country.
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“The vehicles will be deployed for real-time electronic monitoring of the Abuja-Kaduna highway and other major highways and vulnerable locations across the country, including the electronic surveillance of NNPC pipelines in the country.”
The IGP noted that the patrol vehicles on the other hand, would be utilised to strengthen the Safer Highway Patrol scheme, while the tactical APCs would be used for special police operations especially, in support of anti-banditry, anti-kidnapping and anti-robbery operations. The water cannon trucks shall be deployed for the management of civil disorders within the dictates of our democratic values, rule of law and international best practices.
“The Nigeria Police National Command and Control Centre (NPF-C4i) will enhance effective operational coordination and real-time monitoring of situations via video link between the force headquarters, Abuja and all the 36 state police commands and the FCT.
“Similarly, the Nigeria Police Crime and Incident Data Base (NPC & IDB) Centre is to aid the Nigeria Police in acquiring a credible electronic criminal database to support criminal investigation and strategic operations and tactical planning.
The acquisitions represented the first phase of the re-equipment plan and “with the effective take-off of the police trust fund, we shall sustain our blueprint of modernising all components of our operations towards addressing any form of threat to our internal security,” Adamu said.
