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Police have no criminal database, says ex-EFCC boss

Published

February 12, 2020

A former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mrs. Farida Waziri, says the Nigeria Police Force has no criminal database.

Waziri, who is a retired Assistant-Inspector General of Police, said this in her recently published book titled, ‘One Step Ahead: Life as a Spy, Detective and Anti-Graft Czar’.

She said, “Serial or habitual criminals perpetrate their crimes using the same modus operandi. A database aids swift police action. It saves time, resources and lives too. Unfortunately, my service at F Department was brief, just one year.

“Not enough time for my mission to fully mature. Most disheartening, there was no follow-up on my effort after my exit from the department. Up until today, the Nigeria Police Force still does not have a criminal database.”

The United States had last month imposed an immigrant visa ban on Nigeria as a result of the country’s failure to comply with its established identity-management and information-sharing criteria.

In a statement, the US Department of Homeland Security said the restriction became necessary due to America’s inability to verify a traveller’s identity and “assess whether they pose a national security or public safety risk”.

In its statement after the ban, DHS said: “Nigeria does not comply with the established identity-management and information-sharing criteria assessed by the performance metrics.”

It said entry for immigrants from Nigeria has been suspended, “except as Special Immigrants whose eligibility is based on having provided assistance to the US Government.”

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