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The Governor of Enugu State, who also serves as Chairman of the National Economic Council’s committee on reforming police and other security training institutions in Nigeria, has announced that President Bola Tinubu has declared a state of emergency on these institutions as part of his administration’s strategy to combat crime and address security issues nationwide.

According to Governor Mbah, the move to modernize the nation’s security training facilities stemmed from President Tinubu’s presentation at the 152nd session of the National Economic Council (NEC) held two weeks earlier, during which he expressed serious concern over the deteriorating condition of such institutions across the country.

Speaking on Tuesday at the Police Training College in Ikeja, Lagos, during the committee’s inspection of police and security training centers nationwide, Mbah clarified that the initiative was entirely unrelated to President Donald Trump’s recent remarks regarding Nigeria’s security situation.

He noted that President Tinubu believes optimal performance from security personnel can only be achieved when they are trained in a supportive environment and provided with modern learning tools and equipment suited to contemporary standards.

Mbah further emphasized that the committee—comprising Governors Uba Sani (Kaduna), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Kefas Agbu (Taraba), Umo Eno (Akwa Ibom), Dauda Lawal (Zamfara), and Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa), with former Inspector-General of Police Baba Usman serving as Secretary—will approach its responsibilities with the utmost commitment and urgency.

Speaking with newsmen, Mbah said, “The president recognises that there is a need for bold and urgent steps to be taken in order to restore the pride, professionalism, and confidence of men and women in the security space.

“In the words of Mr. President, you cannot expect our men and women, who are protecting our communities and are expected to uphold law and order, to be trained in an environment that is inhumane. That is not acceptable; that is essentially why we need to address this. This is no knee-jerk reaction or predicated on any reaction. This is a forward-thinking, proactive president, who believes that we have exposed our training institutions to decades of neglect and that there is a need for us to get our training institutions well-equipped. What we have just come here to do validates it.

“This committee has a mandate to report back in 30 days. So, we constituted ourselves into two teams. Members of the team that have gone to visit facilities in the northern states are led by the governor of Nasarawa State.

“Our team will be visiting facilities in the southern states. We are also here with the consultants, who are going to have a deep dive to conduct a deep assessment of what we need to rebuild, equip, and sustain in our training institutions. The president saw this as an emergency.

“There is going to be an intervention for rebuilding and equipping these training institutions. As you know, the president has approved the recruitment of an additional 30,000 policemen and women. And that cannot be implemented if we do not have the institutions and facilities to train these personnel. So, this is an emergency, and we are treating it with the seriousness it deserves.”

He said the revamp would be total to bring serving and prospective Nigerian security agents in sync with the 21st century.

“We know that we cannot use the system of the 20th century to train our modern 21st-century police force. They need to be imbued with evolving 21st-century skills – Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Mechatronics and all the digital skills that we need to police in the 21st century. So, what we are doing is a comprehensive revamp,” he stated.

Corroborating Mbah’s explanations during an interactive session with the management of the Police Training College, Ikeja, Governor Abiodun said the fact that the committee was made up of governors underscored the president’s passion and seriousness about the matter.

“We have listened to you, and we are conducting an on-the-spot assessment of some of what you have said to us. You can be sure that the intervention is also going to be immediate, because this committee does not have the luxury of time,” he stated.

Speaking, the Commandant of the College, AIG Omolara Oloruntola, lamented that the College, established by the British colonial authorities in 1949, had dilapidated infrastructurally over the years.

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