The Nigeria Police has said that they had not withdrawn policemen attached to the Kano State Governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, contrary to the claims of the governor that half of his security detail had been removed.
Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), Mr. Frank Mba, stated this yesterday during a visit to the Blueprint Headquarters, Abuja.
He said: “I don’t think the claim by the governor is true. The question we need to as is whether there are policemen at the Government House.
“By the account of the Kano State Police Public Relations Officer there are enough policemen at the Government House. And as long as there are enough policemen there it will be uncharitable to say that we have withdrawn policemen from the state governor. Security is not a function of number.”
Mba who said that the police was committed to “guaranteeing and protecting the rights of Nigerians and will continue to do so, explained that his visit was informed by the need to appreciate Blueprint for its support to the Police and seek further partnership.
“I am here to meet the people behind the Blueprint and thank them on behalf of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Abubakar, and the Police management team for their support so far.”
Mba said the media and the Police were partners in progress hence the need for cordial relationship to exist between them as well as other security agencies, pointing out that the Police public relations department had been strengthened for better dissemination of information.
“We have been able to strengthen the PR department with the training of all Police PRO and has resulted in tremendous improvement. We revived the Police website and it has been very active and we ensure that all press releases and activities are posted timely.
“Also as part of efforts to reach the public and increase accountability our facebook account was also revived and it has gone for 4,000 followers to over 100,000, just as we secured a dedicated email account and twitter handle with overwhelming responses. The response indicates the opening up of the Police PR.”
Asked why the Police appeared partisan during the “Bring Back Our Girls” protest, Mba said: “We don’t have anything against the “Bring Back Our Girls” protesters. Police exhibited the highest level of professionalism. The group stages many walks even to the NASS and we provided them adequate security and had no reason to harass them.”
He, however, said he would not comment on the controversy arising from the protest until the alleged incident was properly investigated.
