Metro

Incivility to Nigerians by police officers on high side, AIG laments

Assistant Inspector General of Police (Zone 8), Babatunde Baba-ita Ishola, has decried high number of incivility (unsociable) cases by police officers against members of the public.

Speaking during a two-day working visit to the Kwara, the Police boss said that Police officers are called to serve and not to rule or oppress the public.

“Incivility to the members of the public by the Police Officers is on the high side. We should not forget that Police are servants to the general public; we are called to serve not to rule or oppress the public. The public is our employer and we must be hundred per cent answerable to them lawfully according to the constitution of the country that created the Police Force.

“The Nigeria Constitution and other extant law should be our guide in performing our lawful duty, and any duty discharged outside such shall amount to illegal duty which is contrary to the norms of the Police Force.

“The Police must be conscious of their immediate community. In other words, Community Policing should be encouraged to successfully nip down criminals in our society,” he said.

The AIG, who said that security is everyone’s business, added that police officers must know that, “to secure anybody, you must first of all secure yourself. The way most of our men are behaving while on duty are not encouraging. Your life first. Remember that you have people that are looking up to you”.

The Police boss, who also said that criminals are more sophisticated now, more organized, and more ruthless than ever before, added that the Police would further leverage cutting-edge tools, data analytics, and intelligence networks to stay one step ahead of those who seek to disrupt the peace in the country.

“The Force shall embrace innovation and technology as powerful allies in our fight against crime. The world is evolving at an unprecedented pace, and so we must adapt to the evolving landscape of crime.

“This we will do through a robust and effective human and technical intelligence gathering process to enhance our capacity. By harnessing the power of technology, we can make our streets safer, our investigations more efficient, and our communities more resilient. We cannot afford to be reactive; we must be proactive in our approaches by equally collaborating with other security agencies (both domestic and international) to strengthen our intelligence network and dismantle criminal enterprises from their core.

“Similarly, the Inspector-General of Police’s administration shall prioritise enhancing the Nigeria Police training curriculum with special focus on attitudinal and behavioural changes for new recruits as well as reorientation programmes for serving officers in order to further refine the perception of our officers to concepts of human rights, rule of law, and citizen-focused policing. The new training curriculum will be produced with inbuilt tests designed to weed out individuals with negative mental and a high tendency for violence from amongst recruits”.

Also speaking, the state Police commissioner, Ebunoluwarotimi Adelesi, informed the AIG Zone 8 (in charge of Kwara and Kogi states) that the working synergy among sister agencies in the state had been helpful in curtailing the influx of criminals into the State.

The state Police commissioner also said that among the prevalent crimes in the state are cultism, kidnapping, boundary disputes, communal conflicts, farmer-herder conflicts, and other common societal cases.

“The command under my watch has confronted the menaces of cultism and kidnappings with uncommon vigour. The support of the people and the determination of my men have made taming of these monsters less difficult to tackle.

“It is pertinent to state here that Kwara is cosmopolitan in nature, populated with people of diverse ethnic, religious, and social inclinations, which makes policing here a little technical. Thank God we have been able to manage the diversity to our advantage.

“AIG sir, I want to inform you that the task of maintaining and sustaining peace and security in the state is so daunting, but with the support of the traditional institutions in the state under the chairmanship of our highly revered royal father, His Royal Highness, Alhaji Dr. Ibrahim Sulu Gambari CFR, the Emir of Ilorin and other traditional rulers in the state has helped in making our tasks easy.

“The command has implemented all the policies initiated by the Inspector-General of Police, which has helped us in our day-to-day policing activities.

“The relationship between the police command and strategic stakeholders, especially the PCRC, vigilante groups, Miyetti-Allah, Gan-Allah, local hunters, transport unions, labor unions, professional bodies, civil society organizations, and Android student bodies under the community policing initiative has yielded and is still yielding positive results in our fight against crimes and criminality.

“Permit me, sir, to mention again that we have disciplined and dedicated officers and men in the command, which contributed greatly to achieving the mileage we have achieved in securing the citizens and residents thus far.

“I want to use this opportunity to inform the AIG that all our successes so far can be attributable to the support of the state government under the dynamic and fatherly leader His Excellency Mallam Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq, the executive governor of Kwara State who has always been helpful in all areas that could make our jobs easier by providing operational vehicles, funds, and moral support whenever the need arises.

“Finally, sir, our gratitude goes to our acting Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olukayode Adeolu Egbetokun NPM PhD, for his love and support for Kwara State Police Command by approving proposal or request made to him that is based on improving our capacity to police the command in line with global best practices, we all know that Kwara State Police Command is his baby”.

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