359 policemen died between Jan. 2014 and April 2016 – Inspector General

The Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, has disclosed that about 359 policemen have lost their lives between January 2014 and April 2016‎ on duty.

Also, 272 other personnel sustained various degrees of injuries within the same period, ‎ all in a bid “to enhance community peace and security in the country,” he also said.

The Inspector General was speaking during a lecture he delivered at the University of Jos, with theme: “Police and Public Partnership in Prevention and Control of Violent Crimes and Conflicts in Nigeria.”

According to him, Police personnel require diverse skills to tackle modern crimes, “especially since criminal elements are arming themselves with more sophisticated arms.” He said this was more so as there exists mutual distrust between the Police and the public.

He further decried the fact that assistance to the Police was often withheld by citizens which had negatively affected the Police in the discharge of their duties. He said that these factors undermine effective partnership between the citizens and the Police.

He also decried the dearth of basic logistics and resources, especially transportation, telecommunication, arms and ammunition, accommodation and other items crucial to boosting the morale of the force, adding that the challenges had been worsened by poor intelligence gathering techniques as well as weak criminal investigation gadgets. ‎