Infighting: Police hierarchy abandons management meeting •It is not true —Police PPRO

FOLLOWING the infighting in the police hierarchy, the weekly management meeting has been disbanded, Sunday Tribune has learnt.

The weekly management meeting holds every Monday and it is made up of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Deputy Inspectors General (DIGs) and the Force Secretary, and the deliberations, focuses on review of the activities and crime situation in the previous week and draws up activities for the new week.

The past five IGPs held the meetings every Monday, but in the past one year, the police management meeting could not hold owing to suspicion among police top echelon.

Informed police sources disclosed to Sunday Tribune that the IGP, who is suspicious of DIGs, had claimed that they were working in different directions.

However, the DIGs had alleged that the system in the police had become authoritarian, with only few being favoured in the entire Force.

The source revealed that no advice or suggestions from the DIGs are ever considered or taken seriously as the IGP is totally in charge of the whole situation.

The source cited an instance where the IGP directed that the Force CID should no longer investigate cases, except the IGP monitoring unit, the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) by DCP Abba Kyari and the Special Tactical Squad (STS) headed by DCP Yusuf Kolo.

These teams are now tagged in police parlance the IGP boys, who are regularly promoted, as they have been promoted within two years from CSPs to DCPs.

The Force CID is now regarded as the weeping child of the Force, as no activity or investigation goes on there.

The source disclosed that an advice recently on how the IGP boys dabble into land matters had become embarrassing, a development IGP did not take kindly as he regarded the teams as the only police investigators working.

Sunday Tribune gathered the situation had become hopeless, as most police officers only go to their offices as ritualistic exercise and go home at the end of the day.

Also, Sunday Tribune gathered that a large number of policemen had not received their salaries in the last three months, as they migrate to the IPPIS salary system introduced by the Federal Government for all civil servants

Reacting, the Police High Command dismissed the allegation that the Nigeria police are now being run unilaterally by IGP Ibrahim Idris, and his stooges and side lining other members of the police management team.

The Force Public Relations Officer, FPRO, ACP Jimoh Moshood, debunked another claim that the Force is owing its personnel three months salary arrears.

According to the FPRO, “Police personnel are not being owed any salary arrears. What we are facing is short payment and the matter is being handled at the office of the Accountant General of the Federation, while the IGP has since directed the Commissioner of Police in Charge of Budget to relocate to  the office of the Accountant General office to facilitate prompt  resoluton of the problem

“On the alleged crack in the Police Management Team, this is false, baseless and far from reality. How can the IGP suspend the weekly meeting of the team and be running police affairs as a one-man show,” Moshood queried.