A 16-man board of the Nigeria Police Broadcasting Services has been inaugurated by the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris. Through the police radio and television outfits, the board members are expected to tackle the growing security challenges in the country.
On the essence of radio and television outfits, the IG in his speech at the inauguration, said, "We will tackle security challenges such as terrorism, oil bunkering, ethnic tension, herders/farmers clashes through the use of our radio and television network.“It will enable the police to tell it’s story and set the record straight by telling positive stories and correcting distorted information about the police.
"It will be used to build community relations and enhance positive relations with members of the public and also advance the community policing course of the Nigeria Police Force.”The police chief also noted that the establishment of the outfits were not financially motivated, but for the advancement of the function of the Nigeria Police Force as stipulated in Section 4 of the Police Act.
In his own remarks, the Managing Director of Skytick International Limited, Edirin Wesley, said the absence of an information outfit contributed to the low successes recorded by the police in tackling crime. He said, "It is an established fact that no nation can confront crimes headlong without credible means of factual and valid information dissemination and the absence of this over the years has been one basic defect in the fight against crime by the Nigeria Police Force.
"One of the basic truths about the inadequacies of the Nigeria Police Force is its inability to tell it’s own story and I think with the estbalsihement of its mass media outfit, the tendency to deny them right of showing and telling the road of its performance will be eliminated.”NPBS will be managed by Skytick limited and handed over to the Nigeria Police Force after 20 years.