LAGOS POLICE HOLDS ONE-DAY WORKSHOP: AIG Belel Says’ Community-Based Policing Is Both A Philosophy And A Strategy’. Humphrey, Azu wants police officers to display leadership skills
AIG Alagbon Zone, AIG Usman A. Belel (5th left); Deputy Commissioner of Police, DC Administration and Finance, DCP Bassey Ewah (4th right); Organizers/Founder, Global Rising, Apostle Kalu Azu (5th right) and Area Commanders in Lagos Police Command during a One-day workshop on stewardship for senior police officers of the Lagos State Command.
A one-day workshop on stewardship for senior police officers of the Lagos State Command was held yesterday to empower them on best practices in community-focused policing.
The programme which has been held for about three years had six (6) Area Commanders and 104 DPOs in attendance at this year’s edition. The program is held by Global Rising led by Apostle Kalu Azu, a public policy initiative with partnership of the Nigeria Police, Lagos state command, Oki Samson of the National Association of Online Security News Publishers, NAOSNP reports.
Addressing the police officers during the workshop on the topic ‘Community-Based Policing Strategies’, AIG Alagbon zone, AIG Usman A. Belel noted that his lecture focuses on community-based policing strategies – what community policing means, what it intends to do, and what it is best policing strategy that can be adopted in providing policing services to the community where we live.
L – R: General Overseer, Wordbase Assembly, Bishop Humphrey Erumaka with the AIG Alagbon Zone, AIG Usman A. Belel during a One-day workshop on stewardship for senior police officers of the Lagos State Command.
‘Globally, policing styles and systems are changing in conformity with universal norms and practices. The shift is towards community-based policing strategy or citizens-based policing strategy.
Community policing is both a philosophy and a strategy that allows and encourages the Police to partner with agencies and communities – work together – in controlling and preventing crime, solve the problems of crime, disorder and safety in society.’
On the current activities of the Police and what they are doing to make it better, AIG Belel shared: ‘The officers are doing a lot as we speak but there is still room for improvement. One of them is to partner with the community where we serve. We need information, intelligence. If the community don’t understand the challenges we go through, they won’t understand why we need help. That is why we partner with them and they may be able to give the intel we need.
R – L: AIG Alagbon Zone, AIG Usman A. Belel; General Overseer, Wordbase Assembly, Bishop Humphrey Erumaka; Founder, Global Rising, Apostle Kalu Azu and Deputy Commissioner of Police, DC Administration and Finance, DCP Bassey Ewah during One-day workshop on stewardship for senior police officers of the Lagos State Command.
It is when we partner that they will tell us what they need during the daytime, during the night time, and when they need vehicular patrol. There are stereotypes about Police but in every place you have a bad person but that does not mean the Police is bad. There are actions being taken against erring police officers especially under the administration of IGP Usman Alkali Baba’, NAOSNP can report.
The guest speaker, Bishop Humphrey Erumaka who spoke on the topic of leadership, stated: ‘leadership is the ability to take people from where they are to where they ought to be whether in the family, school, college, military, police, or in politics.’
Making the topic come alive to the police officers, Bishop Humphrey gave the characteristics of a ‘leader’ as L-ladder who helps others to get to the top, E-echo who speaks well of where they belong, A – answer who solves a problem when he sees it, D – driver who doesn’t only know how to drive but knows the destination where we are going, E – edifice who is stable and people can trust as a landmark for good values, and R – reader who studies in order not to be out of focus.
Cross section of Area Commanders at the workshop
Cross section of Area Commanders at the workshop
He added: ‘A police officer must be a friend. A friend is someone who helps to multiply your joy and reduce your sorrow and he shares your sorrow with you. Our leaders need to be educated if not, they will bring their vicious qualities on us. When a policeman is frustrated, living in an unclean environment, he is bastardized inside, he doesn’t know when he will transfer same aggression to ordinary citizen. I met a junior officer and his anger was that I am riding a good car. But I could understand it but it is not supposed to be so.’
The organizer of the workshop, Apostle Kalu Azu expressed satisfaction at the success of the program noting that ‘the essence of this seminar is so that Nigeria Police will do their job professionally and not oppress people when the people come to them.
When you see a policeman, you should see someone to help you because Police is your friend. When you have a problem and you go to a friend, the way he will handle it will be different from how a stranger will handle it.
L – R: Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, Lagos Command, DSP Stephen Kuti; Area Commander, ACP Ahmed M. Jamilu and DCP Bassey Ewah during One-day workshop on stewardship for senior police officers of the Lagos State Command.
’My aim is that when you see Police, you don’t see a stranger but a friend who can help you, protect you, guide you on what to do without anything attached to it. I give an example of how a policeman saw me on the road with my car stuck and how he helped me. This shows that the Police is here for me. The character currently pushes people away from the Police, certain things need to change in the life of the Police’, NAOSNP gathered.
Giving a thank you speech on behalf of the police officers in attendance, the DCP in charge of Finance and Administration in the Lagos State Police Command, DCP Bassey Ewah shared: ‘I want to tell you that we have taken so much from you and I know that we will deploy it. Thank you sir.’
AIG Alagbon Zone, AIG Usman A. Belel
DCP Bassey Ewah
Founder, Global Rising, Apostle Kalu Azu
Area Commander, Area G, ACP Ibrahim Zungura
Area Commander, ACP Ahmed M. Jamilu
Area Commander, ACP IM Abdullahi
General Overseer, Wordbase Assembly, Bishop Humphrey Erumaka
DPO Makinde Division, CSP Adekunle Ajisebutu
DPO Ilupeju Division, SP Matilda Umiah Ngbaronye (m)
L – R: DPO Anthony Division, CSP Patricia Amadin and O/C Special Squad, CSP Kehinde Oni Johnson
Deputy PPRO, Lagos Command, DSP Stephen Kuti
Area Commander, Area J Commander, ACP Olajide Agboola (2nd left) in a warm handshake with the AIG Alagbon Zone, AIG Usman A. Belel (2nd right); as ACP Ahmed M. Jamilu (1st left); ACP Ibrahim Zungura and DCP Bassey Ewah looks