Inspector General of Police, IGP, Ibrahim Idris, has hailed Governor Aminu Bello Masari for the progress being recorded by Katsina State Amnesty/Dialogue Programme designed to address cattle rustling and armed banditry in the state.The police boss gave the commendation through the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) supervising North West zone, Maigari Abbati Dikko, who paid a courtesy call on Governor Masari in Katsina.Expressing confidence in the amnesty programme, Dikko stated that the social intervention initiative had proved its success in addressing the menace of cattle rustling and armed banditry.He said the police had set machinery in motion to enhance the prevailing peace in the state by approving the establishment of two more area commands and division in the state.The DIG also gave kudos to Governor Masari for his tremendous efforts in supporting the state police command and appealed to him to bring his weight to bear on the bid to establish police trust fund as a veritable source of funding for effective policing in the country.In his remarks, Governor Masari applauded the role played by the police in checking insurgency in the North East and assured that his administration would give all necessary support for the establishment of new area commands and divisions in the state as proposed by the police force.On the arms and ammunition still in the wrong hands, the governor emphasized the need to build confidence in people over time for them to willingly surrender their weapons.Meanwhile, the Katsina State Police Command had said no fewer than 418 suspects had been arrested by the police in the first quarter of this year.The Commissioner of Police in Katsina, Abdulahi Usman, who made known while receiving the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Maigair Abbati Dikko, at the command headquarters in Katsina, noted that out of 309 cases recorded by the police within the period, about 223 had been charged to court while the remaining cases were under investigation.Usman posited that the state was no longer a safe haven for robbers as notorious criminal gangs were being smashed and their arms recovered.The CP however revealed that the command was facing a shortfall of 3,030 personnel; lack of adequate Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC), lorries for operational use and riot equipment.Addressing the officers and men of the command, the DIG, Department of Logistics and Supply (DLS), Force Headquarters, Abuja, said the police boss had written to the presidency over the prevailing insufficient manpower despite the 10,000 personnel recently recruited into the police.Reacting to inadequate funds and other demands of the police, Dikko said only the prompt passage of police trust fund bill before the National assembly would bring about adequate funding for a more effective and efficient police force in the country.He was optimistic that the bill would receive the support and cooperation of the law makers, saying this time around, the bill will not suffer the defeat it encountered in 2009; we have done our homework, let them empower the police force by proper funding.Dikko argued that the police trust fund was critical to the opportunity for adequate funding of the police to excel in performance because of competing demands for the resources of government to shoulder the demands of the police.
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