Minister of Police Affairs Muhammad Maigari-Dingyadi says the reintroduction of the Police Public Complaints Committee (PPCC) is to boost confidence and deepen cooperation between the police and Nigerians.

The minister said this during a sensitisation campaign in Lagos on the reintroduction of the committee, stressing that it will ensure that police officers shun all forms of parochial interests capable of compromising Nigeria’s collective aspiration for effective policing.

Mr Maigari-Dingyadi explained that the initiative was in furtherance of President Muhammadu Buhari’s quest for people-centric security, which prioritises respect for citizens’ rights and addresses genuine infractions with the belief that it will promote inclusiveness in policing arrangements across the country.

“Following the directive of Mr President, I inaugurated the resuscitated Police Public Complaints Committee in Abuja on April 7 to, among others, bridge the gap between the police and the populace to elicit sustainable confidence and mutual cooperation,” explained Mr Maigari-Dingyadi. “Our gathering here this afternoon also dovetail the lessons learnt from last year’s #EndSARS protest and the need to sensitise Nigerians on actions taken to avert its reoccurrence.”

The minister explained that the choice of Lagos to flag off the nationwide sensitisation campaign was deliberate, as the state had taken “the brunt of last year’s public disturbances.”

“It is therefore apt to start the publicity on the initiative being taken by the federal government to enlighten the public on measures and mechanisms to enhance police-public relations in Nigeria,” stated the minister.

The minister believed that if the PPCC had been active, it would have provided an adequate channel through which Nigerians would ventilate their grievances on police brutality, thereby averting the tragedy that followed the #EndSARS protest.

He explained that the PPCC was different from the Public Complaints Commission, an agency of government that deals with all kinds of complaints against administrative injustices by public institutions.

Mr Maigari-Dingyadi assured police officers that the PPCC was not set up to witch-hunt them but to help them discharge their mandate more effectively.³