U N I T E D N A T I O N S
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN)

NIGERIA: Hundreds of new mobile units for police

ABIDJAN, 8 May (IRIN) - The Nigerian police force is to create hundreds of
new mobile squadrons as part of its efforts to effectively combat crime,
religious and political upheavals in the country, Assistant Commissioner of
Police, Haz Lwendi, said on Tuesday.

Iwendi said that recent political crises and violence in some parts of the
country were a curtain raiser on events that could unfold in the run-up to
elections in 2003, the Lagos-based Guardian newspaper reported him as
saying. The Inspector-General of Police, Tafa Balogun, has ordered an
increase in the number of mobile police units from the current 45 to 900,
Lwendi said, adding that Balogun believed them to be an important element
of the government strategy to fight crime.

Balogun has also ordered close monitoring of police officers working within
the anti-crime squads to try to prevent extortion and other corrupt
practices. Around 100 police officers are currently facing different charges
at state commands across the country, The Guardian reported.

[ENDS]

IRIN-WA
Tel: +225 22-40-4440
Fax: +225 22-41-9339
Email: [email protected]
[This Item is Delivered to the "Africa-English" Service of the UN's IRIN
humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views
of the United Nations. For further information, free subscriptions, or
to change your keywords, contact e-mail: [email protected] or Web:
http://www.irinnews.org . If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post
this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Reposting by commercial
sites requires written IRIN permission.]

Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2002