Minister of Interior Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd) has advised opinion and religious leaders to avoid religious conflicts.
Gen. Dambazau spoke to debunk insinuations that the violence in Southern Kaduna had religious interpretation.
A statement yesterday by his Press Secretary, Ehisienmen Osaigbovo, posited that true religious leaders do not fan the embers of hate, but ensured that communities live in peace and harmony.
He maintained that economic growth and development will remain a mirage for Nigeria unless the people resolve to live as a people with common destiny.
The minister said criminals do not discriminate along religious and ethnic lines, citing examples of how communities in Zamfara, Katsina, Taraba, Enugu, Lagos and Niger States were victimised.
The statement reads: “I advise opinion and religious leaders to refrain from giving the crisis between herdsmen and sedentary farmers in Southern Kaduna a religious connotation.
“Rather, attention should be focused on the real enemies of our society, who illegally acquire weapons to terrorise Christian and Muslim communities alike.
“Consequently, the police have been told to ensure the sustenance of law and order, and to arrest and prosecute anyone involved in crime.”
The minister, therefore, urged citizens to cooperate with the police by providing intelligence in their quest to restore normalcy to the troubled communities.
He reassured the people of the government’s commitment to tackling crisis in all parts of the country, while paying attention to measures aimed at eradicating poverty, climate change, population explosion and others.
Tag: Dambazau
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Avoid religious crisis, Dambazau urges leaders
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Don’t distract Dambazau, Ekwueme advises Nigerians
The Igwe of Ezioko, Oko, Orumba North/Aghomili Local Government Area (LGA) of Anambra State, Prof Laz Ekwueme yesterday urged Nigerians not to distract the Minister of Interior, Gen. Abdulrahaman Dambazau.
He urged Dambazau to work with traditional rulers to bring about peace in the country.
He urged the Federal Government to revisit the resolutions of the 2014 National Conference.
Ekwueme, who made the plea in a statement after interacting with reporters, who came to interview him on the devastation of gully erosion in Oko, and the state of the nation.
He pleaded with the minister of Environment to “proceed vigorously with the control of the menace of gully erosion which has plagued Oko and its environs for decades.”
The statement said: “The minister of Interior should not be distracted by negative comments coming from some quarters, from carrying out the excellent work he is known to be doing to bring about peace and security in the country.
“He should rather be encouraged to work with Traditional Rulers Development Association to bring about unity and solidarity among ethnic nationalities in the country towards achieving the progress and development of Nigeria today.”
“Maintenance of peace, solidarity and social integration in the country will be enhanced if the minister works with traditional rulers. The Minister, Gen. Abdulrahaman Dambazzau, who has a reputation of having been a distinguished former chief of Army Staff and is known to have high academic qualification (a PhD) is apparently a fit and proper person to hold the Office of Minister of Interior.
He called for the involvement of traditional rulers in the development of the country.
The statement added: “That traditional rulers should be involved in encouraging their subjects to pay taxes and avoid deliberate destruction of government property in their domains.
“That the same political will demonstrated against Boko Haram should be reflected in halting the undercarriages and wheel propelling incessant bloody clashes between herdsmen and farmers and innocent communities in parts of the country, as insecurity is a critical factor militating against agricultural development.
“That the Federal Government should revisit the resolutions of the 2014 National Conference to address issues of endless diverse regional violent agitation in the country, a situation that has been the foremost undoing of our national advancement.”
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Dambazau urges police management team to be loyal
Minister of Interior Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau yesterday urged the newly appointed members of the Police Management team to be loyal to the force.
Lt-Gen. Dambazau, who made the call at the decoration of members of the management team in Abuja, also urged them to focus on logistics, operations and welfare of personnel of the force.
The officers decorated are DIGs Shuaibu Gambo, Department of Finance and Administration, Folusho Adebanjo, Information and Communication Technology and Hyacinth Dagala, Force Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Department (FCIID).
Others are Maigari Dikko, Logistics and Supply, Joshak Habila, Operations, Emmanuel Inyang, Training and Development, Valentine Chukwu, Research and Planning and AIG Abdul Bube, Force Secretary.
He urged them to also pay special attention to critical areas of economy, security and corruption which were the main focus of the present administration.
He said: “Don’t forget the challenges the country is facing as you discharge your duties. Expectations will be high but do the best you can for the development of the country.”
The acting Inspector-General of Police, Mr Ibrahim Idris, had urged them to focus on crime prevention.
He said: “We cannot guarantee success in our mandate if we fail to build fruitful partnerships with the civilian population.”
Idris also enjoined them to encourage the development and sustenance of responsive community policing models.
He added that “a police devoid of integrity and perceived to be corrupt cannot earn the trust and confidence of the people.”
The police boss restated his resolve to fight corruption at all levels of the public service in the country, adding that it must begin with the police.
He further urged the management team to perform their duties within the confines of the constitution, the Police Act and Regulations.
Responding on behalf of the officers, DIG Shuaibu Gambo assured of the team’s readiness to work in accordance with the constitution.
He commended President Muhammadu Buhari and the Police for finding them worthy for the appointment.
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Dambazau canvases strong police force
The Minister of Interior, Retired Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau, on Thursday canvassed for a strong police force for effective policing of Nigeria.
Dambazau stated this during a familiarisation visit to the Nigeria Police Force headquarters, Abuja.
“Police is the most strategic as far as internal security is concerned.
“The issue of Public safety and internal security mostly rests squarely on the shoulders of the police, the others are merely complimenting their efforts,“he said.
He charged the police leadership to work toward changing the bad perception of Nigerians about activities of the police.
“We must do a lot to change the perception about the Nigeria Police Force.
“We want to have strong police force that will be able to face emerging modern challenges.
“We have a plan to look at the short and long terms in repositioning the Force,“he said.
Dambazau stressed the need for a strong policy on carrier projection in the force.
On prison congestion, the minister said that the police had a major role to play in the decongestion of Nigerian prisons by ensuring in depth investigation of cases.
He also said that there was a need for the police to investigate allegations thoroughly before taking the matter to court, to avoid delay.
“Where you don’t have detailed and almost near perfect investigation it will become very difficult to prosecute and more people will be awaiting trial, “ he said.
The minister charged the police to articulate policies that would enhance the welfare of both serving and retired officers.
Earlier, the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Solomon Arase, stressed the need to review the funding mechanism for the police.
Arase said that it was only through adequate funding of the police that the performance gap in policing could be addressed.
He reiterated the force’s support to the administration of the minister to succeed in its quest to reposition the police.