The House of Representatives has urged the Federal Government to auction police barracks throughout the country, News About Nigeria reports.
This decision came as a response to a motion of urgent public importance presented by Hon. Murphy Omoruyi, addressing the deplorable living conditions of Nigerian Police Force (NPF) officers.
In the motion, Hon. Omoruyi recalled the Police Reform Bill of 2020, signed into law by former President Muhammadu Buhari in September 2020. One of the primary objectives of this law was to improve the living conditions of police officers in Nigeria.
Despite the government’s efforts and the allocation of over N5 billion between 2019 and 2022 for barracks renovations, the conditions in these living spaces remain inadequate and undignified.
Omoruyi pointed out that police barracks are in a state of disrepair and lack proper maintenance. He emphasised the need for community-oriented policing strategies and suggested that having officers live within the general population instead of isolated barracks would enhance public safety and satisfaction.
The motion highlighted that barrack-style housing for police officers is a colonial-era practice that has been abandoned in the countries of the former colonial powers.
Officers and their families often endure squalid living conditions, including cracked walls, bat-infested houses, leaking roofs, and dilapidated structures. These poor conditions are believed to contribute to the negative perception of the police, including allegations of corruption.
As a response to the motion, the House of Representatives called on the Federal Government to auction all federal-owned barracks, and the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Police Affairs were tasked with working with the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) to assess the value of these properties and initiate a public offering.
