Wike accuses police of sabotaging Rivers amnesty programme

GOVERNOR Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has accused the police of sabotaging the amnesty programme initiated by his administration in the state.

This was as he advised the law enforcement agency to concentrate on its constitutional responsibility of providing security.

He said this when he granted audience to the state new Commissioner of Police, Mr Zaki Ahmed, at the Government House, Port Harcourt, on Friday.

The governor, in a statement issued by his media aide, Simeon Nwakaudu, regretted that the Nigerian Police had metamorphosed into a political party.

He also alleged that the state police command had sabotaged the state amnesty programme because of political considerations.

He further averred that the alleged politicisation of police operations in the state had been counterproductive in several respects.

“The police, instead of fighting crime, have constituted themselves into a political party. Everything for the police must be considered from a political viewpoint.

Wike said the police have not reciprocated the investments made by his administration in their operations, note that over 150 patrol vans have been handed over to the police since he assumed leadership.

He added that funds made available to the police for communication gadgets in all the 23 local government areas in the state and purchase of bullet proof vests, were not used by the security agency.

The governor however called on the police to be professional in the discharge of their duties, assuring that he would continue to support them.

Speaking earlier, the new state Commissioner of Police, Zaki Ahmed appealed to Governor Wike you support the state command with logistics, while assuring that he would discharge his duties professionally.