 I'm delighted to join you today at this opening ceremony of the three-day conference and retreat for strategic leadership officers of the Niger Police Force. I think this retreat is appropriately timed and themed, repositioning the police force for the challenges of effective policing in the 21st century. It presents a unique opportunity, not only to review internal security and policing issues, but also to acquire contemporary professional information and knowledge, undertake some peer review, and build important partnerships and networks needed to efficiently deal with the current and anticipated internal security challenges. Aside from the threats of terrorism in the Northeast, we are currently combating a series of crimes that constitute significant drawbacks to our national security. These include financial kidnapping, armed robbery, cyber crime, and the proliferation of small and large arms, and some great transnational crimes. The dynamics of crime in the country have over time become increasingly complex due largely to the impact of technology, global terrorism, and socioeconomic challenges, as well as other security situations, especially within the African continent. It was in response and in anticipation of these that at the inception of the current administration, consented efforts were made towards replacing policies that would re-engineer the Niger police force and ensure the restoration of the agency's mind system within the internal security architecture of the country. In this regard, funding, limited manpower profile, professional capacity gaps, and issues are rising from the relationship between the police and citizens who are identified as challenges that need to be addressed. The Niger police force is without a doubt one of our proudest national assets. This is the largest police force in Africa. We have some of the best trained and best educated men and women in any force anywhere in the world. Our policemen and women have served everywhere, locally and internationally, without standing results and applicants. The Niger police force led police peacekeeping activities in several countries of the world, in Congo, in Namibia, in Angola, in Western Sahara, in Somalia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Croatia, Afghanistan, Kosovo, India as far as East Timor. Locally, in the past one year alone, the Niger police has between January and December arrested over 2,348 unrobbed resources, over 1,412 suspected kidnappers, 684 murder suspects, 1,513 culprits, and have safely rescued over 826 kidnappers of a 10-month period, over 1,665 arms have been recovered, and over 1,612 vehicles stolen or used for crimes are in the safe custody of the Niger police force. Through the course of duty, so many have paid the supreme price, while fighting off robbers, kidnappers and other criminals, many have been made for life. The families have had to deal with their incapacities, yet every day, our men and women of the police force go out at all times with exceptional bravery, often beyond the call of duty, and in challenging conditions, working to make the cities, towns and villages of this nation safer for us all. Let me say that we are extremely proud of the work that you do, and we are grateful for your service. The service that the police force renders is one that we cannot do without. It's a service that will mean your law enforcement service is the closest to the Aberdeen, Nigeria, the grasslands. There are police stations everywhere, and the police above every other service represent law and order to the Aberdeen, Nigeria. This is why the police cannot escape public scrutiny, and very often criticism. Nigerian people, old and young, want our police force to be better, and to do better. They want to be even prouder of your service than ever before. This is why in some of our urban areas, we want to see more compliance, and the people who say that they want to see more compliance, the rule of law, and with the observance of human rights in dealing with the ordinary in Nigeria. Recently, many civil society groups and individuals have complied about their arrest of young men and women just because they look successful, and their carrying laptops. Yet, we must apprehend our own criminals, for we cannot harass young men and women on the streets and in taxes, most of whom are mainly going out about their legitimate businesses. There are also cases of extra-judicial killings and injuries. The misuse of weapons and excessive use of force by some members of the force, this sort of conduct, by a few, must stop, and is the duty of you civil and strategic leaders of the police force, to ensure that impurity of any kind is discouraged and punished where it is found. The image of the Nigeria police as an intercuter of fairness, of justice, and decency in the enforcement of peace, law, and order must be maintained at all times, and in the interest of the credibility of the force as a whole. You have spent your lives, your professional lives, building a greater institution, and you must prevent a misguided minority from destroying it. But I'm pleased to note that the Inspector General has taken up the task of preventing these practices by, and to quote him, I quote, equipping the police with the right orientation for policing in the 21st century, and to align their operations within the expectations of the law and citizens and the standards of democratic policing, which is hinged on the protection of fundamental rights. It goes on to say that also special trainings are being organized for the special units of the police, including the police mobile force, special forces, counter-terrorism unit, the anti-robot attacks, anti-kidnapping squads, and the criminal investigation department as well. In addition, it has put resources to acquire and deploy electro-muscular development technology-based weaponry, which is commonly known as TESA, TESA or stand-offs for low-risk police operations. Almost importantly, the recent review of the standard, review and standardization as well as simplification of the force order 237, the rules of engagement. This has been done with the active collaboration of several international development partners. For its part, the federal government has facilitated the passage of the police cross-border, the Establishment Act to which Mr. President has since ascended. The federal government has also set up, as you've heard, the Ministry of Police Affairs, all geared towards ensuring that we're able to give the very, very best possible support to the Nigeria Police and in terms of funding to mitigate the funding deficits in the Nigeria Police. The groundwork for the takeoff of the act has already progressed very steadily, and I understand that the Ministry of Police, the Minister of Police Affairs, is in close touch with the Inspector Geraldo Apolisi to ensure the smooth takeoff of the fund. Furthermore, our efforts in embracing community policies as a national security strategy is also informed by the need to close the trust gap between the police and the citizens and build partnerships and strengthen the collaboration with communities towards addressing travel and security threats. With mid-study progress in this regard, an important part of that strategy is the recruitment of new personnel from within local governments and ensuring that after such failure, such new officers remain within their local governments. Policing must be as much as possible local in order to give the local governments the benefit of the civil policing that we all need. It's also within this context that the federal government approved the recruitment of 10,000 union leader officers annually into the Nigeria Police force, beyond which we shall continue to support the leadership of the Nigeria Police and their personal capacity development programs at the various police training facilities. All these internal security initiatives will of course remain ineffective if the personnel at the strategic level of policing in Nigeria lack the optimal professional capacity to drive the strategies. It is for this reason that I commend Inspector General of Police for convening this retreat and for providing quality leadership to the Nigeria Police at this crucial time in our nation's history. I can confidently assure all Nigerians at the federal government will continue to support the police towards the attainment of the statutory mandate and to the participants at this conference and retreat. I urge you all to take full advantage of this retreat to update and to share your knowledge in full realization of the increasing sophistication and complexity of criminal activity today. Realizing knowledge and practice to these realities is the key to policing in the 21st century and especially within the challenges of the 21st century internal security space. On this note, I consider it a singular honor and pleasure to formally declare this conference and retreat open. I wish you all professionally and reaching engagements while you're here. I pray for God's divine protection for you all and for our public. Thank you very much.