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By Nicolas Kalu, Abuja
Inspector General Police, Mohammed Adamu, has said that sports is a crucial element in policing.
He said this at the unveiling of the logo and mascot of the 12th Nigeria Police biennial games at the Force Headquarters, Abuja. The games, which would hold in Anambra State from February 29 to March 7 will feature over 20 sporting events.
Adamu said this is because as a physically-tasking and mentally-demanding profession, every police officer is expected to maintain a very high level of physical wellbeing and mental alertness for optimal performance of their duties.
The IGP said the principles of comradeship, fairness, discipline, resilient and focus which regulate sports are also important elements that every police officer is expected to imbibe in order to remain on high professional standard.
He said sporting events like the Police Games provide an opportunity to enhance camaraderie among police officers on one hand, as well as with colleagues in the Armed Forces and other security agencies.
This synergy, he said, is vital to building interagency trust, which is critical to the advancement of national security interests.
He said the event is a strategic engagement that presents the police the opportunity to entertain and build goodwill with the general public in a manner that would fill the trust gap, strengthen confidence-building between citizens and the police, and accelerate the attainment of community policing goals.
