Gombe needs ‘standard armoury’, CP Etim laments
….. Gombe has 3,905 personnel, 297 special constabularies trained and deployed to their LGAs
Chima Azubuike
Gombe State Police Commissioner Oqua Etim, on Wednesday, lamented lack of standard armoury in the state to secure officers’ arms and ammunitions.
Etim made this disclosure in his address when the Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of zone 12 Bauchi, Abiodun Alabi, came on familiarisation visit to the command.
While speaking about the command’s challenges Etim, noted that considering the landscape of the state, befitting armoury is imperative.
Etim, applauded the Inspector General of Police Usman Baba and his management team for unanimously allocating clothing for Inspectors and rank and file as well as all the riot equipment.
“But as Oliver Twist, We wish to appeal to your good office to help us secure a standard armoury as we don’t have a befitting armoury to secure our arms considering the nature of our landscape,” Etim said.
On the formation of the command, Etim disclosed the state comprise of 3,905 officers and men, adding that “five area commands, 24 divisions, 32 police stations and 34 police posts. The current strength of the command as at May 2023 stands at 3,905 personnel comprising of 491 SPOs, 1713 inspectors, 1609 rank and file with 87 traffic wardens.
“The command has three tactical formations which include 34 PMF Gombe, 59 PMF Bajoga and CTU base 19 Gombe.”
Etim emphasised that in the effort to sustain community policing no fewer than 297 special constabularies were trained. “However the manpower of the command was recently boosted with 297 special constabulary trained and effectively deployed to their Local Government Areas of origin to sustain grassroot community policing agenda of the current Inspector General of Police
“The newly passed out constables of 2020/2021 intake after passing out were drafted for vertical combat skills and weapon handling training at the PMF base Gombe. The training was done to bequeath the constables requisite knowledge skills and appropriate attitude in the performance of their duties,” he said.
On his part, AIG Alabi, urged the commissioner to write to the Force headquarters, adding that it was beyond the zone to tackle.
He said, “I can assure you that our dynamic IGP Usman Alkali Baba, will be there to address the challenges. Equipment and tools to work with are being procured, distributed on regular basis to enhance our efficiency and capacity in fighting crime.
“On the issue of armoury I want to employ you to write directly to Force headquarters so that AIG works can do something about it. It beyond the zonal command capacity. To have a standard armoury there is need for AIG works to give us the prototype required for our arms and ammunition can be well secured.”
On combating crimes, Alabi advocated for synergy and non-kinetic approach towards curbing emerging security challenges, adding “To make your environment peaceful you have to dominate your security space. There must be proactive community policing that will deter criminal from rearing their ugly heads. To do this you have to involve other stakeholders.”
Commenting further Alabi added that technology driven policing was required, “To nip crimes in the board before they are been committed. To fight cattle rustling, to deal with them before they commit the act. Capacity building is key in policing. Our work demands us to be physically fit and mentally alert,” the AIG stressed.
