It will cost 3 Million to fully kit one Police officer –Lagos Security Trust Fund
By Dayo Badmus,
The Executive Secretary of Lagos State Security Trust Fund, Dr
Abdurrazaq Balogun has said it will take in excess of ₦3milliin to fully kit a Nigerian Police officer.
He made this known during the 15th Annual Town Hall Meeting On Security With The police themed,
“Reconceptualising Safety and Security In Lagos State”, held on Victoria Island.
Balogun said that security agencies require advanced training, more equipment that would support an intelligence-led approach to crime prevention (drones, trackers, scanners at city gates, gunshot detection devices) and more non-lethal weaponry.
To fully kit one Policeman with uniform, taser, tactical gear (light, knife, jacket, belt, gloves, knee, shoulder, ankle and boots) bulletproof vest, ballistic helmet, tear gas, push-to-talk on cellular communication equipment, rain gear, etc, will cost at
least ₦3 million per officer.
“Hence to kit 33,000 Police officers in Lagos will cost about N99 billion. This is our reality, if we truly want a highly motivated, and fully equipped Police force in the state.
“Truth be told, the needs of security agencies are endless, as they are expected to be prepared for every single possible crime scenario.
“Often, most people do not see how simple solutions to a problem such as providing sniffer dogs creates a whole new expenditure matrix such as housing,
feeding, training health care and even providing special protection details for the dogs from drug batons who would seek to kill them.
“Keeping these dogs alone is a very expensive endeavour but the K-9 unit is not too advanced to be included in our security architecture in the state,” he said.
Balogun said that insecurity is spreading from the north to the south and there is the need to be ready and to build on the capacity to deal with future challenges.
