Digital literacy: NITDA trains 200 police personnel in Gombe
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), in collaboration with the Police Command in Gombe State, has trained no fewer than 200 police personnel in the state.
Mr. Oqua Etim, Commissioner of Police in the state, while addressing the personnel in Gombe on Friday at the closing session of the training, urged them to seek
knowledge to enhance their performance.
Etim noted that the training was important in view of the digital nature of society and crimes, and added that the personnel needed to be knowledgeable in combating crimes in contemporary times.
According to him, times are changing. Before, we were talking about highway robbery, but today we are talking about cybercrime, where people sit in the comfort of their offices on a laptop and do the unexpected.
“So we have to be abreast of ensuring that we effectively provide security to our citizens,” he said.
The commissioner said that the training would help the officers better prepare to serve the residents of the state.
He urged the beneficiaries to leverage the knowledge acquired to improve their performance for the betterment of Nigerians.
Etim also seized the opportunity to reiterate the command’s stand against violating human rights while on duty.
“The era of police brutality has been cast in the dustbin of history. We are in a democratic dispensation, and what is expected of us is to subordinate ourselves to the civil authority; we are a civil police.
“You are under civil authority; you are servants; you are not bosses or lords. You have been employed, trained, equipped, and paid by citizens’ taxes to serve them,” he said.
He added that police personnel are expected to comport themselves at all times and not exercise acts of bullying in any form.
“If I were to employ the services of a taxi driver, I am expected to pay; if I use public transportation, when the bills come, I am expected to pay.
“What you find in other places where policemen enter buses and tell you they are staff will not be tolerated here,” he warned.
He commended the NITDA officials for training the officers while urging the agency to continue to support the command with such trainings for improved policing in the state.
Also speaking, Kashifu Abdullahi, Director-General/Chief Executive Officer, NITDA, commended the police personnel for their dedication and commitment throughout the training.
Abdullahi, represented by Mr. Ahmed Mohammed, Coordinator, North-East Zonal Office, NITDA, said the training would help boost the performance of personnel and ensure that citizens get good policing.
He urged the trained officers to continue to use the knowledge acquired not just for their computer-based examinations but also for their daily routines to ensure improved performance.
Similarly, Mr. Abdulmalik Abubakar, Deputy Manager, Cyber Security, in charge of the training in the NITDA Northeast Zonal Office, said the training was in line with NITDA’s digital literacy drive to train millions of Nigerians by the end of 2030.
Abubakar said the police force was collaborating with the agency in preparing officers for their CBT exams and digital literacy.
He said that the knowledge being acquired by the personnel would help motivate them in their jobs.
“Based on the training, they will be able to sit for their CBT promotion exams and get promoted; they will also be better motivated, and that’s good for you, for me, and for the country.”