AIG Gumel: Community policing remains central pillar of NPF reform

An Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), Mohammed Usaini Gumel, said community policing remained a central pillar of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) reform vision under the leadership of the Inspector-General of Police. He said this at the methodology meeting on the community policing framework in Nigeria jointly organised by the CLEEN Foundation, Open Society […]

An Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), Mohammed Usaini Gumel, said community policing remained a central pillar of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) reform vision under the leadership of the Inspector-General of Police.

He said this at the methodology meeting on the community policing framework in Nigeria jointly organised by the CLEEN Foundation, Open Society Foundations, and the NPF.

In his goodwill message at the meeting, themed “Community Policing and Local Security Initiatives – Building Trust and Shared Responsibility,” AIG Gumel, who is in charge of the Community Policing Unit of the NPF, said the initiative represented not just a policing strategy, but a philosophy that placed citizens at the heart of safety and security.

He stressed the need to acknowledge the numerous local security initiatives that had emerged across the country and understand how they can complement, not compete with, the statutory role of the police.

“Today’s engagement provides an opportunity for us to examine the many dimensions of community policing, which include awareness, participation, trust, collaboration, and sustainability through both police and community lenses,” he added.

In his opening remarks, the Programme Director of the CLEEN Foundation, Dr Salaudeen Hashim, said the meeting sought to strengthen a collective approach to one of the most critical pillars of internal security and citizen engagement in the country.

He noted that challenges of consistency, coordination, and sustainability remained despite Nigeria’s significant progress in conceptualising and piloting community policing frameworks across several states over the years.

Hashim said the meeting offered the opportunity to agree on how best to collect, analyze, and interpret evidence on community policing interventions across the country.

Speaking on the research overview, Olaniyi Olumayowa of the CLEEN Foundation said community-led security initiatives sprang up due to the laxity of the state. He, however, stressed the need for a system that supports legislation, oversight, and accountability to check the excesses of non-state actors in charge of various community-led security initiatives across the country, citing abuses by Amotekun operatives, vigilantes, and others.