The House of Representatives on Tuesday asked the Nigeria Police Force to account for the over N5bn the 7th National Assembly approved for recruitment of additional personnel.
The Lawmaker gave the directive in Abuja as they passed a resolution calling on the Police Service Commission to recruit more men into the service to cover the policing gap in the country.
A member from Abia State, Mr. Uzoma Nkem-Abonta, moved the motion, which received the endorsement of the majority of members.
The House also said the welfare of officers and men must be given top priority by the Federal Government, like other security outfits if policemen were expected to give their best to the country.
Leading the debate on the motion, Nkem-Abonta, recalled that successive Inspectors-General of Police had complained of the lack of adequate welfare and equipment for the Force, but noted that till date, the problems persisted.
“The House recalls the plea by the IG, Mr. Solomon Arase, on the PSC, when he visited the commission on May 11, 2015, to recruit more personnel as the force is understaffed,” part of the motion read.
He added that while the United Nations’ recommendation was 222 policemen per 100,000 citizens, in Nigeria, there were just 370,000 policemen for a population of about 170million.
Nkem-Abonta also quoted Arase as saying that “20 to 30″ policemen died monthly with no provisions made to replace them.
On welfare, the House called on the PSC “and other relevant institutions to enhance the capacity of policemen by ensuring the provision of adequate welfare packages to sustain their committed resolve towards policing the nation.”
Punch
