PCRC plans to establish Neighbourhood Watch Committees – National Chairman

The Police Community Relations Committee says plans are underway to establish Neighbourhood Watch Committees as part of its ongoing moves to bolster community policing across the country.

The National Chairman of the PCRC, Dr. Faruk Maiyama, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeriain Sokoto on Sunday, while commenting on the state of the country’s security.

Maiyama said: “This is because the issue of ensuring the security of lives and property of all law-abiding Nigerians is a collective responsibility.

“Such arduous responsibilities should not be left to the government or the security agencies alone.

“All Nigerians must put their hands on the deck in this direction.”

Maiyama, a former Permanent Secretary in Kebbi State, said the committees would be used as tools of effective community policing across the country.

He said the planned committees would help in collating intelligence reports on potential criminal activities nationwide.

Maiyama, who is currently a Senior Lecturer at Kebbi State University of Science and Technology, said: “The colossal intelligence to be so gathered by the committees will also help the security agencies to nip all crimes in the bud.

“Nigerians should learn to be concerned by happenings around them in workplaces, markets and residences.

“Citizens should even be worried about suspicious spending by people whose sources of finance are not known.

“We should also learn to report anybody living above his supposed means and others without known sources of income.”

Maiyama stressed the need to provide useful information on security matters for the various security agencies in the country.

He said: “Information is power.

“With it, the police and other security agencies can, through the mechanism of intelligence sharing, be able to forestall any criminal act.

“It is only then that the society can recognise strangers, while hotels should be quite stringent on lodging only guests with genuine identification.”

Besides, Maiyama said the proposed committees would be used to sensitise Nigerians to the importance internal security.

He said Nigerians had greater roles to play in promoting national security as well as maintaining law and order.

NAN.