Over 3000 athletes from the 12 Zonal Police Commands and the Force Headquarters will compete for laurels at the 12th Nigeria Police Biennial Games scheduled for Anambra State from February 29 to March 7, 2020. The athletes will compete in 20 games.
Speaking at the unveiling of the logo and mascot for the games on Tuesday in Abuja, Chairman, Nigeria Police Sports Committee, AIG, Usman Alkali said all the athletes were currently in various camps within their zones preparing intensely for the games, adding that they expected some national records to fall during the event.

“Close to 3000 Police athletes from the 12 Zonal Police Commands and the Force Headquarters will be competing for laurels at the Games.

“We have emplaced requisite actions directed at ensuring that all the events are competed for in line with internationally acceptable sporting standards,” he said.

He revealed that the committee has collaborated with the various sports associations through the Sports Ministry to provide graded referees and other officials for the games.

In his remarks, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Adamu described the Police Games as “a strategic engagement that presents us with the opportunity to entertain and build goodwill with the general public in a manner that will fill the trust gap, strengthen confidence-building between the citizens and the police, and accelerate the attainment of our Community Policing goals.”

He explained that the event would provide Nigeria a platform to discover sporting talents in the Nigeria Police who would re-enact the heroic and historic performances of the likes of ACP Chioma Ajunwa, who at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, U.S., attained the feat of becoming the first athlete from Nigeria to win an Olympic gold medal, and who to date, remains Nigeria’s only individual Olympic gold medalist.

Adamu noted that the Force was also desirous of re-producing the likes of late SP Sunday Bada, who won three medals at the World Indoor Championships, including a gold medal in 1997, set a national record in the 4 x 400 meters relay at the 2000 Olympics, where he led the Nigerian team to win gold medals after the disqualification of the USA.

“Sport is a crucial element in policing. This is because as a physically tasking and mentally demanding profession, every police officer is expected to maintain a very high level of physical well-being and mental alertness in order to aid in the optimal performance of their duties. Sporting activities act as a vehicle for achieving this professional objective.

“In addition, the principles of comradeship, fairness, discipline, resilience, and focus that regulate sports are also important elements that every police officer is expected to imbibe in order to remain on the high professional pedestal.

“Hence, sporting events like the Police Games provide an opportunity to enhance camaraderie among ourselves as Police officers on the one hand, as well as with our colleagues in the Armed Forces and other security agencies on the other hand. This synergy is vital to building inter-agency trust which is critical to the advancement of our national security interests.”

Responding, Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano said since the creation of Anambra 29 years ago, the state had not witnessed anything like a multi-athlete event like the Police Games.

He added that it would be the first time the games would be hosted in the South East, stressing that the state was ready to host the 12th Nigeria Police Biennial Games.