Inspector-General of Police Usman Baba on Sunday ordered immediate deployment of security operatives to all schools, hospitals and critical national infrastructure nationwide.
Force Public Relations Officer Olumuyiwa Adejobi made the disclosure in a statement he issued on Sunday in Abuja.
Mr Baba also ordered regular patrols, stop-and-search, raids and show of force by tactical commanders to clamp down on crime and criminality in some states of the federation.
He gave the directive while reviewing the general security situation across the country in reports filed by police commands and formations.
He called on strategic police managers at various levels to prioritise the use of intelligence gathering, particularly traditional and local intelligence to locate criminals’ hideouts and flush them out.
Baba urged all officers and men of the force to be on the offensive and to take the fight against crime to the doorposts of suspected criminals, including bushes and uncompleted buildings.
He called on the officers to profile suspects and charge those found wanting to courts accordingly.
He enjoined Nigerians to cooperate with the police as many police operatives would be seen at strategic areas, routes and communities.
He said the idea was to suppress the antics and criminal activities of men of the underworld.
Baba, however, warned police officers and men to be civil, professional and humane in the discharge of their duties.
He pledged the commitment of the police to the protection of lives and property by decimating criminal elements that target schools, hospitals and other critical national infrastructure.