IG Solomon Arase
Yemi Akinsuyi in Abuja

The Inspector General of Police (IG), Solomon Arase, has said he has immediately deployed highway patrol vehicles to fill in the vacuum created with the Monday’s presidential order for dismantling of military roadblocks on highways in the country.
Arase made this known yesterday during a one-day stakeholders consultative forum on improving police response to sexual and gender-based violence and gender mainstreaming, where he disclosed that in addition to over 300 patrol vehicles recently deployed to the roads, another 157 highway patrol vehicles are ready for deployment on the roads.
The police boss who submitted that the police would need the prompt collaboration of the public to prevent crimes and criminality, however, affirmed that the Nigerian military could still be called upon to assist in security whenever the need arises.
He noted that the police had already taken strides to ensure that the force protects the interest of their female folks and improved response time to gender and sexual violence.
According to him, one of the repugnant policies he found in the police was the law which said a female officer could only marry after she had served a number of years in the force while their male counterparts could get married right from the police college.
He affirmed that steps were being taken to correct all such anomalies.
“If the men can marry from the police training schools, why can’t the women?” he queried.
In her remarks, an Assistant Commissioner of Police and gender adviser, ACP Olabisi Kolawole, stressed that the creation of the gender unit of the force has inspired female police personnel to equally aspire to great heights along with their male counterparts.
She called on stakeholders in gender issues to rally round the police force in terms of capacity building for personnel deployed to the office and provision of the necessary tools for efficiency
The Executive Director, CLEEN Foundation, an NGO with particular interest in police growth and development, Mrs. Kemi Okenyodo, in her remarks, applauded the police for the giant strides in the area of gender equity in the force.
