The House of Representatives on Wednesday ordered an investigation into the N10bn President Muhammadu Buhari approved recently for the Nigeria Police to combat insecurity in the country, particularly kidnapping and other forms of violent crime.
Lawmakers said the money was released to the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase.
In a resolution in Abuja, the House also queried a recent claim by Arase that the police had procured and deployed additional surveillance cameras in many parts of the country.
The House, which was presided over by the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, noted that there was no evidence of the cameras Arase claimed the police deployed, while kidnapping and other violent crimes had merely escalated in number lately.
Asking Arase to explain how the N10bn was utilised, the House stated, “The House is aware that the rate of kidnapping, profile murder and other crimes in Nigeria are presently on the increase.
“The House is further aware that there are not enough equipment and surveillance cameras deployed by the IGP to facilitate the reduction of violent crime in the country.”
Lawmakers took the decision to probe the utilisation of the N10bn after a member from Plateau State, Mr. Johnbull Shekarau, drew the attention of the House to the rising cases of kidnapping across the federation under matters of urgent public importance.
The House also raised concerns over the utilisation of a separate N8bn released to the police to rehabilitate police training colleges ahead of the ongoing recruitment of fresh 10,000 personnel by the police.
It observed that though the Police Service Commission had begun the recruitment, the colleges that would train the new personnel remained in a dilapidated state.
Part of the resolution read, “The House notes that the President released over N8bn to facilitate the proposed recruitment of the 10,000 police personnel in Nigeria.
“The House is worried that till date, the police training colleges are still dilapidated and infested with rodents, a condition not conducive for the effective training of police recruits.”
The House directed its Committee on Police Affairs to conduct the investigation and produce a report within two weeks.
The committee, by procedure, will summon Arase to appear in the course of the investigative hearing. Punch
