The poor standard of living in police barracks has forced lawmakers in the House of Representatives to ask the federal government to sell them all.
According to the lawmakers, the selling will tackle the deplorable living conditions of officers.
The resolution by the House comes after the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance by Murphy Omoruyi (LP-Edo) during plenary in Abuja on Thursday, October 26.
Leading the debate, Omoruyi said that the National Assembly passed the Police Reform Bill 2020, which was signed into law by former President, Muhammadu Buhari on 16 September 2020.
He said that one of the core issues of the Act was to address the living conditions of the nation’s police officers.
In his words, “Between 2019 – 2022 more than N5 billion was spent by the Federal Government on renovation of barracks.” Omoruyi said that all efforts made to rehabilitate the barracks failed, adding that there had been robust national debate and calls for more community-oriented policing strategies.
“Having officers of the Nigeria Police living amongst the general population, rather than in their secluded barracks will significantly satisfy these calls and enhance public safety,” he said.
The lawmaker said the barracks method of housing police and local law enforcement officers, was a relic colonial practice that had since been abandoned by the colonialists.
He said the public has lost confidence and respect in our gallant officers due to their poor condition of service.
The lawmaker added that the deplorable living condition of the police officers had dampened their morale and productivity.
He suggested the abolishment of the barracks model and replacement with an enhanced “Housing Allowance” determined by rank, existing police salary structure and location would be beneficial to the officers.
Adopting the motion, the House urged the Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Police Affairs to liaise with the Bureau of Public Enterprise to assess the value of all federal-owned barracks across the country.
The House said that a public offering should be announced.
The House constituted an ad-hoc committee to produce a comprehensive addendum to the Police Reform Bill with input from all relevant stakeholders.
The House also mandated the Committee on Appropriation to ensure a redeployment of the funds meant for the maintenance of barracks across the country. The House directed the committee to report back within four weeks for further legislative action.
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