The Federal Government says it recruited 40, 000 police officers in the past four years in an effort to re-energize and improve the personnel of the force to tackle increasing security challenges in the country.

President Muhammadu Buhari disclosed this in his remarks while declaring open a two-day retreat for Senior Police Officers in Uyo, on Tuesday, NAN reports.

Buhari, who was represented by the Minister of Police Affairs, Dr Maigari Dingyadi, said the Federal Government also granted assent to the Nigerian Police Trust Fund Act and carried out an upward review of salaries and allowances of the rank and file, in a bid to boost the morale of the Force.

He said that other efforts aimed at improving service delivery in the force initiated by the Federal Government included; the establishment of a Task Force on need assessment of the Nigeria Police Force headed by Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.

He added that the FG also assented to the Nigerian Police Regulatory Bill 2020 as part of measures to reposition the police force.

“This administration has prioritised the reform, re-equipment and re-engineering the Nigerian Police, being the lead and most critical agency in the nation’s internal security architecture.

Indeed, since the commencement of the current democratic journey in 1999, no government had shown so much commitment to the welfare and institutional advancement of the Nigerian Police than the current government of President Muhammadu Buhari.

This is evidenced by the Presidential assent that has been granted to the Nigerian Police Trust Fund bill and the promptness with which the Board of Trustees was inaugurated.

“Furthermore, the Federal Government also approved the recruitment of 40, 000 police personnel over a period of four years, as a pathway towards addressing the huge manpower gap in policing the nation,” Buhari said.

The President, while commending the National Assembly and the Nigerian Governors Forum for their support to the police, assured that the Federal Government would continue to accord priority to efforts aimed at re-engineering and re-equipping the force to tackle increasing and complex security challenges of the country.