. as RULAAC honours DPO with best police officer award
By CHUKS EKE
Anambra state Commissioner of Police, CP Echeng Echeng, has advocated strong collaboration between the police and the community where they are serving for effective policing.
Echeng made the recommendation yesterday in a key note address he presented at the Anambra state police stakeholders partnership forum, PSPF and awards ceremony, in collaboration with the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre, RULAAC, in Awka, the Anambra state capital.
Pointing out the factors to be considered, Echeng stated that part of requirements for Community engagement is building trust, stressing that a community will willingly engage with the Police when there is trust between both parties.
“The Police must actively cultivate the trust of the Community and refrain from any act that endangers that trust. Confidence once broken will be difficult to regain”.
“Communities too must endeavour not to abuse this trust. When individuals give false information aimed at achieving selfish objectives, it erodes the mutual trust”.
“Both sides must understand that they need each other and that a partnership built on mutual respect must be forged in the interest of the Community”.
“It is only in an ambience of partnership that problems confronting Communities can be holistically addressed and ultimately solved”.
“Selflessness is when Police watch out for the good of the Community and the Community reciprocate same. Doing otherwise endangers both the Police and the Community, he noted, adding, RULAAC as an advocacy Centre has proven that it understands the needs of modern societies for Rule of Law and Accountability”.
The CP assured that the Police as a Public Institution would continue to make itself accountable in the administration of Criminal Justice.
In his remark, the Anambra State Coordinator
PSPF, Prince Chris Azor, said that the forum
aims to address the deficit in monitoring capacity within communities and to fill the gap in citizens’ awareness of the Anambra State Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) 2010.
He also said that It was established to serve as a mechanism for holding NPF personnel to account for rights violations, while growing skills and awareness to ensure prevention and reduction of such violations.
“The purpose of the platform is to promote interaction among stakeholders, to track, report, discuss and resolve cases and incidents in the state”, he said, pointing out that PSPF achievements was made possible by the active and committed support from the former CP Anambra, now a retired AIG John Abang, as well as the former Police Public Relations Officers, PPRO, CSP Haruna Mohammed.
He recognised the DPO, Fegge Police Division, Onitsha, Anambra State, Rabiu Garba, a Chief Superintendent of Police, CSP, for displaying uncommon courage and compassion by coming out to address the Endsars protesters in Onitsha.
In his speech, the Executive Director, RULAAC, Okechukwu Nwanguma, lamented that the entire Southeast zone has been threatened by serious insecurity in recent times, which calls for attention by people and police in the area.
“We can not fold our arms and allow criminals to take over our land and continue to make life unbeatable for all of us. Our culture abhors violence and the desecration of human life and human dignity. It is not just criminal, but also abominable to shed blood, to take human lives and debase human dignity the way we are currently witnessing in the Southeast”
While commending efforts of security agencies in Anambra state, Nwanguma, however regretted that the security operatives are themselves also targets and victims of Insecurity.
“We continue to call on the federal government to increase support to the police for effective performance of their constitutional mandates and protection of the citizens”.
Highlight of the occasion was giving awards to the following police officers:
AIG John Abang for promoting police -citizens engagement and professional standards;
CSP Haruna Abubakar for effective public relation and CSP Garba who was given an award by RULAAC as best police officer in Anambra state.
