The Inspector General of Police (I-G), Usman Baba, on Thursday said the Nigeria Police had deployed its air assets for aerial surveillance to address the security threats along Abuja-Kaduna highway.

Mr Baba made this disclosure in Abuja at a meeting with Strategic Police Managers and Official Inauguration of Police Specialised Service Automation Project (POSSAP).

He said that the deployment of the air assets was to support ground police teams in the fight against kidnapping and banditry along the highway.

The I-G said the deployment was in addition to steps being taken to upscale patrol operations along the highway.

He said that the Nigeria Police was collaborating effectively with the Military, Department of State Services, the Ministry of Transport and the Nigerian Railway Corporation, to ensure safety on the road.

According to him, the idea is to evolve a resilient security architecture that will address the current threats on a sustainable basis.

Mr Baba said that the Force had reinvigorated the ‘Operation Safer Highway’ with the injection of more patrol vehicles and personnel across the country.

He said that the police had strengthened its ‘Operation Restore Peace’, a special anti-secessionist operation in the South-East, with the deployment of more special operational units and assets of the Force.

Mr Baba pledged the determination of the Force to emplace appropriate frameworks that would engender fair, peaceful, secure, and credible electoral process, ahead of gubernatorial elections in Ekiti and Osun as well as the 2023 general elections.

“In furtherance to our preparation for the 2023 general elections, we are currently working on enhancing the capacity of officers of the Force in election security management.

“Consequently, I have approved the conduct of an Election Security Management Training for Police Officers ahead of the general elections.

“The training will be delivered in partnership with a Training and Security consultant with vast experience in election security management,” he said.

He said the exercise would hold across the six geopolitical zones of the country and would commence with the North-Central Zone on Aug. 4 in Abuja.

The I-G called on the Strategic Police Managers to sustain their synergy with the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) and other sister security agencies in their states.

He said the call was to ensure effective coordination and guarantee the success of the entire electoral processes.

Mr Baba said the inauguration of the POSSAP was one of the fundamental purposes of his meeting with the Strategic Police Managers.

According to him, the concept of rendering specialised services by the Police is a global practice, designed to generate complementary revenue for the Police.

He said the aim was to augment funding constraints which usually hamper operational capabilities of the Force.

“The POSSAP, as approved by the Federal Government, is intended to ensure the standardisation of the process of offering police services.

“It is also to guarantee accountability in the process and act as a source of complementary revenue which will be channeled to augment the personnel welfare and other administrative and operational needs of the Force,” he added.

He said the initiative was in line with the Strategic Revenue Growth Initiative (SRGI) of the Federal Government, aimed at improving revenue sufficiency for critical agencies.

(NAN)