As Nigeria celebrates its 59th independence anniversary, President Muhammadu Buhari, says that the government has resuscitated the ministry of police affairs to oversee the development and implementation of strategies to enhance internal security.
In his national broadcast to mark the anniversary on Tuesday, Buhari said he established the Nigerian Police Trust Fund to support police with increased fiscal resources to enhance their law enforcement capabilities.
“These initiatives are being complemented by the ongoing recruitment of 10,000 constables into the Nigeria Police Force. This clearly demonstrates our commitment to arrest the incidence of armed robbery, kidnapping and other violent crimes across our nation,’’ he said.
He also said that Nigeria remained resolute in its efforts to combat militant attacks on oil and gas facilities in the Niger Delta and accelerate the Ogoni Clean-up to address long-standing environmental challenges in that region.
Buhari said that attention was increasingly being focused on cyber-crimes and the abuse of technology through hate speech and other divisive material being propagated on social media.
“Whilst we uphold the Constitutional rights of our people to freedom of expression and association, where the purported exercise of these rights infringes on the rights of other citizens or threatens to undermine our national security, we will take firm and decisive action,’’ he warned.
He reiterated the call for all to exercise restraint, embrace tolerance and mutual respect in airing their grievances and frustrations.
He said that while the ongoing national discourse on various political and religious issues was healthy and welcome, “we must not forget the lessons of our past – lessons that are most relevant on a day such as this’’.
He said that the path of hatred and distrust leads to hostility and destruction and restated his belief that majority of Nigerians would rather tread the path of peace and prosperity and uphold the nation’s unity.
Good governance and economic development could not be sustained without an enabling environment of peace and security, he said.
He said that in the last four years, the country combatted the terrorist scourge of Boko Haram and that “we owe a debt of gratitude to our gallant men and women in arms, through whose efforts we have been able to achieve the present results’’.
Buhari also expressed gratitude to Nigeria’s neighbours and allies – within the region and across the world – who have supported the fight against insurgents.
MM/GIK/APA