Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has declared that repentant terrorists and other reformed criminals will not be recruited into the force, urging community leaders to stop recommending such individuals for enlistment into security agencies.
Gatekeepers News reports that Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG) Isyaku Mohammed made the position known on Thursday during a stakeholders’ meeting in Ilorin with officers and personnel of the Kwara State Police Command, traditional rulers, religious leaders, transport unions and other community stakeholders.
Mohammed called on traditional rulers, religious leaders, Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) and other influential members of society to identify and expose criminals rather than endorse them for recruitment into the police.
“Traditional rulers and DPOs do sign for those people. And I don’t think they’ll recommend anybody that has been engaged in criminality in the name of ‘I’ve repented’,” he said.
Reflecting on his experience in the North-East, the DIG recalled the military’s deradicalisation programme for former Boko Haram members but noted that many communities remained reluctant to accept them.
“I was privileged to serve in the North East. The military in their own wisdom accepted deradicalized Boko Haram members, reorient them and sent them back to the society,” he said.
“There’s a town hall meeting that I attended when I was DC Operations in Yobe. They came to sensitise the community and told the people to accept the deradicalized people because they’ve repented. But all members of the community rejected them. They said they should take them to another community where they don’t know them.”
Mohammed stressed that the police would not permit such individuals to join the force under any circumstance.
“The only thing we can do is to protect our own territory and ensure that such repented people do not find their ways into the Nigeria Police. We are doing everything possible to ensure that not just repented criminals, even bad boys, we don’t allow them to find their way into the Nigeria Police,” he said.
“So, you our stakeholders, community heads, don’t sign for them, identify them, expose them. We will not allow them into the system. And if you do, after training, we’re sending them back to you to come and police your places. So, you take the consequences.”
The DIG, who coordinates police operations in the North Central geopolitical zone, also announced plans to launch a joint border patrol initiative to curb cross-border crime in Kwara State.
“Kwara State borders Ekiti, Oyo, Kogi, Niger and the Benin Republic. The joint border patrol will be carried out across these border corridors to prevent criminality and the movement of criminals,” he said.
Mohammed explained that the Inspector-General of Police had directed all Deputy Inspectors-General to visit states within their respective zones to engage stakeholders, assess security challenges and identify solutions to improve policing.
He also advocated community policing as a key strategy for preventing crime, urging residents to take ownership of security efforts.
“Community policing is a prevention tool for security. Here, the community takes ownership of security strategy,” he said.
The police chief further emphasised the importance of timely intelligence sharing and called for greater youth engagement to steer young people away from criminal activities.
