Edo PCRC Chairman suspended for ‘wearing police uniform, rank’

The Nigeria Police Force has ordered the immediate and indefinite suspension of the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC) Chairperson for the Edo State Police Command, Mrs. Helen Atekha Odemwingie.

The Force equally decried the illegal use of police uniforms, kits and accoutrements by non-police individuals and groups.

According to a statement by the acting Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, on Wednesday, the suspension is coming on the heels of a trending picture of the PCRC chairperson and other members at a function held at the Edo State Police Command wherein the PCRC members were seen wearing black uniforms similar to that of the Nigeria Police Force.

The uniforms were worn with accompanying insignias and various inscriptions which contravene the provisions of section 214{1} of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and section 101 of the Police Act, 2020.

In line with the extant law, the IGP hereby warns that henceforth, any individual who adorns themselves illegally in police uniforms would be made to face the full wrath of the law.

Similarly, the IGP has ordered the police disciplinary units particularly the Force Provost Marshal, the IGP X-Squad and Monitoring Unit to clamp down on persons who engage in the illegal sales of police uniforms, kits and accoutrements, outside of police approved stores and the office of the Quartermaster.