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| Inspector General of Police Mohammed Adamu |
Nigerian Youths on Friday sent a “Save-Our-Soul” message to President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately come to the aid of new recruits in the Nigeria Police Academy who are currently placed on a daily feeding budget of N150.00.
The young citizens under the umbrella of Nigerian Youths Peoples Assembly (NYPA) made the call at the end of a Special Legislative Plenary on the State of the Nation, the 2021 Budget and reform of the Police in Abuja.
Delivering the Youth Declaration on Police Reform tagged: “The irreducible minimum path to peace” the President of the Assembly, Sunday Chibuzo Okereke asked Buhari to urgently save the lives of the new Police recruits at the Nigeria Police Academy.
Okereke said it would be difficult for the country to have a decent Police service if it did nothing about this “shameful” condition of service and welfare for officers.
“As young people, we are by this declaration sending a red SOS to the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria to save the lives of new Police recruits at the Nigerian Police Academy whose feeding budget per day is N150 and who are living in conditions that can only produce anger, hatred, bitterness that will turn the characters of the officers into brutal elements in the society,” Okereke said.
The youth parliament called for the immediate disbandment of Police barrack system; which it said should be replaced with low cost housing that will enable Police officers live closer to the people.
The youth body also called for the implementation of state Police and decentralisation of the Nigerian Police system.
As part of its recommendation, the assembly of young citizens called on the Federal Government to immediately beef up the Police with a minimum of one million new officers in the next six weeks; provided their recruitment is subjected to thorough background checks and psychological test.
The group condemned in strong terms the shooting of protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate; calling for a thorough investigation into the incident.
It commended state governments that have set up Judicial Panel of Inquiry to address the issue of Police brutality in line with its 5 for 5 demands to the Federal Government
The plenary session featured a role play of President Muhammadu Buhari’s presentation of the 2021 budget to the Joint Session of the National Assembly; followed by a sectoral analysis of the Appropriation Bill.
The youths demanded that government should increase the current budgetary allocation for issues of youth development in the country; stressing that the current allocation of N170billion is grossly inadequate.
They also called for the establishment of separate ministry to oversee the affairs of youth development in the country.
