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Tag: IGP

  • IGP bans covered vehicle number plates

    The Inspector-General of Police, Ag. IGP Mohammed Adamu has banned the use of covered Vehicle Number Plates by all unauthorized users across the country.

    The order which is with immediate effect came following intelligence report that covered number plates may be used to commit electoral offences.

    Asides the threat to the polls, the IGP also noted that covering of vehicle number plate amounts to clear breach of the Road Traffic Act and other relevant laws of the land.

    The IGP also warned that any security personnel found escorting their principal with an unmarked vehicle or those with masked vehicle number plates will be arrested and dealt with accordingly.

    This is contained in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday by the Force Spokesman, ACP Frank Mba.

    The statement reads: “The IGP gave this order on Tuesday, 5th March, 2019, following intelligence report that the unwholesome practice may be deployed by some unscrupulous persons to aid the commission of electoral related offences before, during and after the Saturday, 9th March, 2019 Gubernatorial/House of Assembly elections.

    Read Also: Guber polls: IGP warns would-be troublemakers

    “Apart from the above immediate possible threats to the polls, the IGP also noted that the covering of Vehicle Number Plate amounts to a clear breach of the Road Traffic Act and other relevant laws of the land.

    “In addition, the act could also impact negatively on national security and safety and has the capacity to; heighten criminal activities, engender atmosphere of lawlessness, shield perpetrators of crime and place unnecessary pressure on security agencies in their routine crime prevention and monitoring tasks.”

    The IG also directed all Assistant Inspectors General of Police (AIGs) and Commissioners of Police (CPs) in the Zonal and State Commands to strictly enforce the restriction order at their various Areas of Responsibilities (AOR) and to ensure that all defaulters are dealt with according to the law.

  • Guber polls: IGP warns would-be troublemakers

    The Acting Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, on Tuesday warned would-be troublemakers for the next Saturday’s governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections to have a rethink.

    According to him, security arrangement across the country has been enhanced to deal ruthlessly with thugs and trouble makers.

    He spoke with State House correspondents at the end of security chiefs’ meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    He also said that security personnel have been increased for trouble spots identified during the Presidential and National Assembly elections.

    Congratulating all Nigerians for the general peaceful conduct of the Presidential and National Assembly elections, IGP urged Nigerians to come out and vote next Saturday.

    He said “We are all aware of the fact that we just concluded the presidential and National Assembly elections and we want to congratulate Nigerians for the peaceful conduct of the elections and we are prepared now for the governorship and the House of Assembly elections in the country.

    “We’ll like every Nigerian to come out and cast his or her vote. The security arrangement we provided during the presidential elections is being enhanced so as to provide enabling environment for everybody to come out and cast his or her vote for their preferred candidates.

    “We will again advise those that will want to disrupt the process to rethink because during the presidential election, we had some few challenges here and there, those challenges, we’ll not allow those challenges to repeat themselves. We are taking more security measures to address those pockets of challenges we noticed.

    “So, thuggery again, is not allowed, ballot snatching is not allowed, disruption of the election process is not allowed. We, the security personnel have resolved to deal ruthlessly with anybody that attempts to disrupt the process of this election.

    “For that reason, we expect, every states, the conduct of the election should be respected. We expect that electoral materials must not be tempered with; we expect that the INEC officials would do their work without fear or favour and without being allowed to compromise. The same thing, the security personnel are to perform their duties without allowing themselves to be compromised.

    “So, we have heightened the security arrangement to make sure that the election goes without any hitch.” he stated

    Asked if the police made any arrest of hoodlums disrupting the Presidential and National Assembly elections, he said “We’ve made a number of arrest all over the country but probably we shall come out with the number of arrest we have made in terms of those that disputed the process of the election in some areas within the country. We’ve a lot of arrest.”

    On the special effort being put in place to ensure peaceful election in the trouble spots in the country, he said “Virtually, in Bayelsa and there are other states within that zone that we have taken notice of the fact that people there prone to violence so we have increased the number of security personnel that have been posted there.

    “Also, we have increased intelligent outfit that has been posted there so as to help us identify those people that are trying to cause problem so that we can take them out of the environment before they cause the problem. Therefore, there is increase in security personnel.

    On the allegation of militarization of the process by security agencies, he said “Well, as I said before, everybody, the lives of Nigerians are secured in terms of provision of adequate security to come out and vote. If you judge what you have said with the report of the international observers and local observers, you will see that both the local and international observers have adjudged the process to be peaceful.

    “So pocket of challenges you get here and there did not affect the peaceful conduct of the elections. The process was peaceful and credible.”

    Asked when those arrested would be prosecuted, Mohammed Adamu said “Investigation is ongoing. There is an investigative team that has been setup headed by the Commissioner of Police in-charge of legal, they are compiling the case files, they are investigating them. At the end of the investigation, the police in liaising with INEC will prosecute them.”

    Asked the superiority of police or other security agencies at Polling Units, he said “Well, there is no superiority in terms of security agencies. We only talk of the role but when it comes to internal security, it is the police that is the lead agency other security agencies support the police in terms of internal security.”

    Those at the meeting included the Chief of Defence Staff, General Gabriel Olonishakin, Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Yusuf Buratai, Chief of Naval Staff, Ibok-Ete IIbas, and Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadiq Abubakar.

    Also present at the meeting were the National Security Adviser, Major Gen. Babagana Monguno, Director of National Intelligence Agency, the Director General, Department of Security Service.

    The Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dangazzau and the Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali were also at the meeting.

  • N1.25bn damages: Court fixes Feb. 28 for suit filed by Okorocha

    The Federal High Court sitting in Jos, on Wednesday fixed Feb. 28, to deliver judgment in a N1.25 billion damages suit filed by Gov Rochas Okorocha of Imo against the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and the EFCC for ”invading and ransacking” his house in Jos.

    The Presiding Judge, Justice Musa Kurya, fixed the date High Court, after all the counsel to the parties involved in the case adopted their final written addresses.

    Okorocha through his Counsel, Mr Markus Saleh (SAN), had prayed the court, in his final written address, to condemn and adjudge the invasion of his home in Jos on May 3, 2017 as illegal, null and void.

    Saleh argued that Okorocha’s family members and staff were held hostage during a “search” by the police and EFCC conducted without any court warrant.

    He prayed the court to declare the action of the police and EFCC as “illegal, null and void’’ and award his client the sum of N1.25 billion as general damages because there was no valid court warrant for such an exercise.

    “We also pray for the issuance of a perpetual injunction restraining the respondents from further doing anything as such in his homes across the country, ‘’ he prayed.

    Responding, the counsel to IGP and EFCC, Edwin Inegbenoise and Muktar Ali-Ahmed respectively, prayed the court to dismiss Okorocha’s the application on the grounds that it lacked merit.

    Read Also: Okorocha to Issa-Onilu: stay away from Imo

    Inegbenoise argued that the search was conducted by police officers attached to the anti-graft commission, there was no way the governor should include the Police in the case because those officers involved take orders only from the EFCC and not the police.

    He prayed the court to strike all the allegations labeled against the IGP and the Plateau Commissioner of Police who were joined in the suit.

    In his submission, EFCC counsel, Ali-Ahmed prayed the court to dismiss the case because it lacks merit since the EFCC has the constitutional powers to search any person’s house or office in the cause of any investigation more so that there was a search warrant obtained from a chief magistrate court.

    “My Lord, we finally urge this honourable court to dismiss this case for lack of merit, ’’ he pleaded.

  • Community policing key to winning citizens’ trust – IGP

    The Acting Inspector General of Police, IGP Mohammed Adamu has identified community policing as the answer to winning citizens’ trust and attaining the mandate of the Force.

    The IGP also said he will set up Community Policing Implementation Steering Committee composed of seasoned Nigerians and experts on community policing to support the Force in achieving its goal.

    Adamu disclosed this in Abuja on Monday during the decoration and inauguration of the newly promoted Deputy Inspector General of Police.

    The decorated DIGs and the departments they are in charge of include DIG Finance and Administration, Usman Tilli Abubakar; DIG Operations, Abdulmajid Ali; DIG Logistics and Supply, Frederick Taiwo Lakanu; DIG Force Criminal Investigation and Intelligence (FCIID), Anthony Ogbizi Michael; DIG Training and Development, Yakubu Jubrin; DIG Research and Planning, Aminchi S. Baraya; and DIG Information and Communication Technology, Godwin C. Nwobodo.

    On the policy thrust of his administration, “It is in line with this reality that the emphasis of my leadership is predicated on two critical principles. First is to define a clear policing vision and strategy that will guide my leadership in dealing with internal security threats with organization being on the upcoming general elections and highly organized crimes that of national security consequences. Second is to identify and emplace sound professional and intellectual minds to support me in giving effect to the strategies towards attaining my policing vision.

    “Let me clearly emphasize that policing standards and practices have to change in Nigeria if only we want to restore citizens’ trust and attain our mandate in the most effective manner.

    “We therefore, need to re-strategize and take the Police back to the community. We have to also evolve new thoughts and embrace new orientation as a Police Organisation, to work with the citizens, neighbourhood, and other strategic security actors as a pathway towards addressing communal crimes.

    “Henceforth, therefore, Community Policing strategy shall drive policing functions at all levels under my leadership and I look forward to working with the new Force Management Team towards giving effect to this policing vision.”

    On the committee that will be established, Adamu said: “Indeed, in the coming days, a Community Policing Implementation Steering Committee composed of seasoned Nigerians and experts on community policing will be inaugurated to support us in driving this process.”

    The IG while congratulating the new management team stated that promotion of officers and men under his watch will only be based on merit.

    He said: “To the new Deputy Inspectors General of Police, as we celebrate your professional feat today, you must see your elevation as a call to national duty. It is also a clear statement that under my leadership, merit shall be the overriding standard that will guide promotion. You need to, therefore, rededicate yourself to service to the Nigeria Police and the nation. The task of policing a complex nation like ours is undoubtedly arduous. But with your individual and collective experiences, I am confident that together, we can surmount the challenge.”

    He also expressed hope that the experience of the new management team will aid in the actualization of his vision for the Force.

    Read Also: IGP retires all DIGs – Police Source

    He said: “I am glad that the senior officers being decorated are not only professionally and intellectually deep, their wealth of experience shall be helpful in aiding the attainment of my vision and perfecting my goals.  I therefore, thank the Police Service Commission for supporting the Force in identifying these great professional minds and appointing them as Deputy Inspectors General of Police and members of the Force Management Team.”

    Also speaking, the Chairman of Police Service Commission, Alhaji Musiliu Smith while commending the IGP and the new team emphasized that they have enormous task ahead.

    He also disclosed that what he met when he resumed office in July 2018 was disturbing adding that it was similar to what the IGP met when he resumed.

    He however pledged that the Commission will continue to offer selfless and fearless care to the welfare of officers and men of the Force.

    He said: “Those who know the IGP knows that he is a round peg in a round hole. The task ahead of him is not an easy task but I trust his ability with the support of the management team, I am sure he will make a success of the herculean task.

    “To the officers to be decorated, I also want to congratulate them that they are able to reach the coveted rank of DIG. They reached the rank not only on seniority but I want to emphasize also on merit and I am sure they are going to be great asset to the administration of the IGP. I want to assure the IGP, the management team, officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force that the PSC under my leadership will continue to give selfless and fearless care to the Force and to our country.

    “I have had few meetings with the IGP and I want to say we are operating on the same frequency but I reminded him that what he met on the ground and what we met on the ground when we took over on the 25th of July last year were definitely things that will disturb a good Nigerians but gradually, we are sanitizing it especially the promotion process and I want to assure the IG, his management team, officers and men of the Force that they can only rely on us and be sure that we will continue to give good service to the Nigeria police force and to our great country.”

  • IG raises the alarm over stockpiling of arms

    The Acting Inspector General of Police, IGP Mohammed Adamu has said some politicians are stockpiling arms ahead of the elections in February and March.

    The police leadership also stated that it will not hesitate to deal with any politician whose attitude contravenes with the Electoral Act.

    The Police boss disclosed this in Abuja on Tuesday during a meeting with Deputy Commissioners of Police in charge of Operations as part of preparation for the elections.

    He also however charged the DCPs to commence raids of black spots to curtail likely threats to the electoral process.

     

    Details shortly…

  • Ogun APC spokesperson petitions IGP over threat to life

    The Publicity Secretary for Ogun State Executive Caretaker Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Tunde Oladunjoye has petitioned the Acting Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu over the growing insecurity in Ogun State and threat to his life. Oladunjoye said the recent threat messages received by him and political violence targeted at APC members in the state calls for concern and investigation. He also said the Governor of Ogun State, Ibikunle Amosun should be held liable if anything happens to him.

    This is contained in a petition dated 23rd January, 2019 titled; ‘Growing insecurity   in   Ogun   State   and   threat   to   my   life:   a request for police protection and investigation.’ The petition reads: “You will recall that recently, precisely, December 19, 2018, I was appointed as Publicity Secretary for Ogun State Executive Caretaker Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC). You will further recall that due to growing incidences of political violence in Ogun State, our party, APC, demanded that the Inspector General of Police should set up an independent panel to investigate increasing political violence in our once peaceful state.

    “We continue to receive reports of violent attacks against members of our party in different parts of the state, our campaign materials and planned attacks against leaders of our party. I also have information to the effect that I am one of the prime targets to be mowed down, for reasons I am yet to know.”

    Giving details of some of the threat messages received, Oladunjoye said: “At exactly 07.31 PM, 13.01.2019) I received a phone call from an MTN line.   The caller speaking in Yoruba language, Identified himself as “Segun”. He warned me seriously that I have been marked down for attack between “today and Sunday”, and begged me not to take his information with levity: “e da movement yin ru mo won lo ju, e ma fi oro yii sere o, ma tun peyin pada (confuse them with your movement, don’t joke with this information, I will still call you).

    “If   anything   happens   to   me,   please   hold   Senator   Ibikunle   Amosun   of   Ogun   State responsible. In my entire life, as a student leader, activist and politician, I have never used or advocated violence. I continue to demand and struggle for the betterment of my society fearlessly and non-violently. For those who   intend to harm   our body, or   kill us, let   them   be told  that   our soul  is definitely beyond their reach.”

     

  • Southeast to Buhari: give us IGP, Security Council slot

    The Igbo tendered yesterday a list of requests as President Muhammadu Buhari visited Onitsha, the Southeast’s business and commercial honeypot, to push his re-election bid.

    They demanded that Buhari should:

    • appoint a Southeasterner as Inspector-General of Police (IGP);
    • stop Boko Haram’s insurgency and herders-farmers clashes; and
    • address marginalisation claims made by some regions.

    The Acting Inspector-General of Police (IGP) is Mohammed Adamu from Lafia, Nasarawa State. He succeeds Ibrahim Idris, who retired on January 15.

    It was a huge carnival in Onitsha, as thousands thronged a rally addressed by the President.

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) campaign train berthed in Anambra State with Buhari, who is seeking re-election, inaugurating the Mausoleum of the First Republic President, the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, in Onitsha.

    The late Owelle of Onitsha’s final resting place was completed by the Buhari-led administration after years of abandonment by previous governments.

    Among the sea of people were traders and artisans, who thronged the expansive Holy Trinity field in Onitsha, where Buhari and other leaders took turns to address the rally.

    Party faithful sang the President’s praise repeatedly at the rally.

    Before inaugurating the mausoleum and the courtesy visit to the Obi of Onitsha, Alfred Achebe, the President was welcomed to the state by Governor Willie Obiano.

    The first port of call for the President and his entourage, comprising Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode and some ministers, were the Obi of Onitsha’s palace, where Igwe Achebe, received them in the company of members of his cabinet.

    In line with the Onitsha tradition, Igwe Sunday Okafor spoke for the Obi of Onitsha.

    He prayed for Buhari’s success and tabled the requests, which are believed to be the Southeast’s.

    He also reminded him of the appointment of a Southeasterner into the Security Council.

    The monarch praised Governor Willie Obiano for   seeing   that the   Inosi   Onira   compound of the late Owelle Azikiwe was kept in good shape.

    Buhari said the inauguration of the mausoleum confirmed Anambra as his home and one of his strongholds.

    He said: “I have nothing to say than to remind you of the situation we met this country, and the promises we made to you.

    “So, the best we can do for our country is to return the APC to power. The biggest gift we can give to our country is security and sufficiency of economic prosperity.”

    The President said the APC administration had so far addressed the security situation in the country, regional development and equal ministerial appointment.

    He said the economy was recovering and the country on the track of development.

    The President said: “The larger population is made up of youths between the ages of 35 and below. Nigeria has lots of work to do, to get you employment.

    “We have stopped spending our foreign reserve to import rice; there is sufficiency in rice and we now produce it locally, including the Anambra rice.”

    Buhari said the mandate given to him by Nigerians required their support, especially for peace and economic development. He said his administration would use all recovered looted funds for the well-being of the citizens.

    He, however, promised that his administration, if re-elected on February 16, will continue to make life easier for all by fighting corruption and insecurity.

    Buhari said: “The anti-corruption fight is difficult in the current democratic dispensation, compared to the period I was a military Head of State, when those who looted the economy were arrested and prosecuted.”

    The President said he had reached an agreement with militants in the Niger Delta on how to protect and ensure safety of natural resources.

    He also said the government was tackling kidnapping for ransom, herders/farmers clashes, armed banditry and remnants of the Boko Haram insurgents.

    Buhari, therefore, called on the Anambra people to vote for all APC candidates in the forthcoming general elections to enable the party complete all ongoing projects across the country, particularly in the Southeast.

    “We have made some progress. What you need to do is to come out on the day of the election and vote for the APC from top to the bottom,” the President said.

    He assured the electorate that the APC administration will not betray Nigerians and will not allow anyone to do so.

    APC National Chairman Adams Oshiomhole said that the fundamental issues of the campaign were the pronouncements by the PDP that they were ready to change from their old ways of fraudulent administration”,  which he said were all lies.

    He said the people should resist that move by not voting for them.

    Oshiomhole said: “With what I have seen here today in this light of the nation state, the APC has already won the general elections.

    “I am, therefore, calling on you to ensure that you vote for all of the candidates of the APC from top to down during the general elections.”

    APC Campaign Council Director-General Rotimi Amaechi urged the electorate to vote the party all through to ensure a smooth running of the APC administration.

    He said: “Whereas the PDP was in power for 16 years, the APC in power for three years had accomplished far more, including rail, roads and fiscal prudence”.

    Amaechi, who is the Transportation minister, urged the electorate to reject the PDP, which he said, should be blamed for the deplorable condition of roads in the Southeast and the Southsouth.

    Labour and Employment Minister Chris Ngige said Nigerians needed a stable and people-focussed government to develop the country forward.

    Ngige said: “Join us in this journey to the ‘Next Level’ of a prosperous, strong and stable Nigeria.

    “We have worked hard to fulfil our promises and while the road may have been difficult, over the last three and half years, we have laid the foundations for a strong, stable and prosperous country for the majority of our people.”

    The state coordinator of the Buhari Campaign, Senator Andy Ubah, said the large turnout of supporters at the rally showed that the APC and its candidates will win the February 16 presidential election and March 2 governorship and Assembly elections convincingly.

    The party’s senatorial candidate for Anambra Central Senatorial Zone, Sylvester Okonkwo, noted that Buhari’s achievements were not only completing and commissioning of Zik’s mausoleum, but working on abandoned federal projects in the Southeast and training and empowering of youths across the country.

    Okonkwo said the President had shown enough love to the Igbo, predicting that he (Buhari) would rake in enough votes in the state and Southeast in general during the 2019 election.

    Read also: CBN plans new capital control rules

    According to him, the completion and inauguration of the mausoleum was the fulfilment of the promise Buhari made to Azikiwe’s son, Chukwuma, before he died in 2014.

    “It was there that Mr. President in discussion with Chuma Azikiwe, lamented the ugly state of Zik’s mausoleum, his last resting place.”

    The state acting chairman of APC, Basil Ejidike, said the President’s promise had come to pass.

    Others at rally were: APC National Youth Mobiliser Tony Nwoye; former Senate President Sen Ken Nnamani; Charles Odedo; Lady Sharon Ikeazor and all the APC candidates vying for various positions in the state.

    The presentation of party flags to the candidates was one of the highpoints of the  rally.

  • Memo to IGP

    SIR: In Nigeria, policing is interwoven with politics.  While the pressure of the elections are there, keep in mind that you are being faced with the challenge of managing a police force that is plagued by poor conditions of service, deplorable work environment, lack of incentives and motivation, corruption, low level of public confidence and serious lack of expertise in some specialized fields.

    Nigeria Police needs total overhaul and this can be grouped into three core areas- leadership, methodology and, culture and attitude. The Nigeria Police has witnessed  various changes since its inception in  1861 when it began with a 30-member consular guard formed in the then Lagos Colony. From 1964, the NPF has had 20 IGPs, with each coming with his own transformative ideas. However, if the NPF must be responsive to modern public policing standards and demands, reforms in the three areas mentioned above is imperative. For reforms to create desired change, all strategies and goals must be communicated and a buy-in among officers created – especially junior officers. Reforms cannot be imposed on the police. However, the urgency of these reforms cannot be over-emphasized.

    The police under you can rejig the mentality of ‘absolute hierarchical superiority’ by giving junior officers who are always on the field the chance to weigh in their views. The public expect you to look at things ‘off-the-police-shelves’ to see what the public expects and needs from the police. This will bring imaginative ideas to strike a new resonance among the officers of the police and also bring visible functionality and efficiency in police.

    The public expects the police to prevent crime, and maintain peace and public order. However, job of the Nigerian police is dangerous, with high rates of on-the-job injury and death. The police operate without up-to-date and high-tech policing equipment- you cannot fight crime with only guns, broken batons and jalopy pickup vans. The police should be armed with modern firearms and protective equipment, in addition to small tools like tasers, incapacitant spray, telescopic and expandable batons, etc. Communication is vital for modern policing. Thus, any existing police radio spectrums which are subject to serious interference should be gradually replaced by a new spectrum of superior quality. The police should have their entire vehicles and posts/stations installed with Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA) system for effective communication, as well as for data and voice transmission. TETRA is encrypted to prevent interception.

    The general management of policing equipment by the Nigerian police is very poor. For instance, most of the vehicles used by the police are in bad states. The processes of vehicle purchase, fuelling and maintenance should be redesigned- outsourcing and workable decentralization are the best options. The Police Service Commission should commission competent automobile firms to supply and maintain for the Nigerian police vehicles which are built to police specifications in factories. Fuelling of vehicles and other policing equipment should also be contracted out to responsible fuel marketers. This will eliminate corruption and usher in easy administration.

    The biggest problem facing the Nigerian police is culture and attitude. The police need to create and cherish a strong culture among its rank and file. The Nigerian police should seek the services of Public Relations experts/firms to develop a modern PR plan for it- one that should go beyond the traditional police’s PR method- public display of achievements.

    Above all, as a matter of urgency, you have to get your team well prepared for the forth coming elections which are about a month away. The police have a huge role to play in the elections if it must be successful. The time is short but in colloquial parlance, it is the baptism of fire for you.

     

    • Zayyad I. Muhammad,

    Jimeta, Adamawa State.

  • Open letter to IGP Muhammad Adamu

    Sir: I want to congratulate you for being named the new Inspector General of Police.

    Sir, you have taken over the goodwill and liability of the Nigerian Police Force. I can only wish you an emphatic success in office as your success or otherwise will have a serious impact on the ordinary people on the street and the country as a whole.

    As you settle down, I urge you to be professional and write your name in gold by giving us the new police Nigerians are craving for in order for the police to gain the trust of the society. As a concerned human rights lawyer, my team of over 50 lawyers over the years has received plethora of calls for help from numerous Nigerians daily on our ‘Know Your Rights Nigeria” platform. Over 70 percent of complaints received nationwide border on human rights issues involving the Nigerian police. I am also aware of many other platforms in Nigeria providing pro bono legal services in this regard.

    Nigeria is yearning for the right leader in the police who can lead the force to the happiness of ordinary people on the street. We earnestly hope you can be the one we have been patiently waiting to celebrate locally and globally.

    Permit me to call your attention to human rights issues begging for your prompt action in Nigeria. It would be great in your own tenure, if you can look at issues of torture, indiscriminate arrests and extortion of people, abuse of the use of firearms, unjustifiable use of force, brutality, among others. The effect of the violations of human rights of the people is the gradual erosion of public confidence.

    For the Nigerian police to engender trust and encourage the reporting of crimes, thus contributing to more effective crime fighting and enhancement of justice, safeguarding the fundamental rights of all citizens is required. As a result, I urge you to set up effective human rights desk to be manned by qualified personnel in all police stations, commands and zonal commands nationwide in Nigeria with the mandate to attend to cases of human rights abuses.

    While there should be a working mechanism in place to honour officers who have been killed on the lines of duty, the welfare and special promotions for dedicated officers who have done us proud should not be monetized or politicized.

    Sir, you must have heard about one Superintendent Julius Adedeji, a dedicated police officer from Ekiti State Police Command who was decorated at the U.S Consulate General Lagos last year (2018) for his enviable human rights records in the course of duty as a police officer and also named by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) as incorruptible police officer. Nigerians took to the social and traditional media to celebrate this feat but regrettably, the NPF ignored one of its own (the officer) and his feats without any congratulatory message or with any special reward for bringing such honour to the force as published by the Leadership newspapers on May 7, 2018.

    Again, training is also very vital in all human activities. If our police are better trained, they will serve the public better and Nigerians will have confidence in them.

    If these aforementioned are judiciously looked into by you, I am confident that we shall see a change in the mannerism and behaviour pattern of our officers and men.

    As you resume office, I call for human rights based approach to policing and ensuring that the Nigerian Police actions are in accordance with the fundamental principles for the development of a fair and just society. You have promised all Nigerians a professional and impartial police as we approach the 2019 general elections, I hope and pray that your tenure will improve the country’s human rights records.

     

    • Adeola Austin Oyinlade Esq.

    adeolaaustinoyinlade81@gmail.com

  • IGP appoints Mba new Force Spokesman

    The Acting Inspector General of Police, Ag. IGP Mohammed Adamu has appointed Assistant Commissioner of Police ACP, Frank Mba as the new Spokesman for the Nigeria Police Force.

    Mba took over from an Ag. Deputy Commissioner of Police, DCP Jimoh Moshood, who is said to have been redeployed to other national assignments.

    Until his appointment, Mba was at the Special Fraud Unit (SFU), Ikoyi- Lagos. The posting is with immediate effect.

    Details of his appointment are contained in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday by the Deputy Force Spokesman, CSP Aremu Adeniran.

    The statement reads: “Frank Mba, an Assistant Commissioner of Police and a Lawyer, is an alumnus of the University of Lagos where he studied Law. He also has a Masters Degree in Law from the University of Dundee, Scotland- United Kingdom. A product of the Nigeria Police Academy, Kano where he had his initial police training, Frank is a graduate of the prestigious FBI National Academy, Quantico- USA. He also holds a Certificate in National and International Security from the Harvard University, USA.

    “A former Police Spokesman; both at the national and the Lagos State Command levels, Mba is an experienced communicator and image maker. The new Inspector General of Police has therefore charged him to bring his wealth of experience to bear in revamping the image of the Force, improving the relationship between the citizens and the police, bridging existing communication gap between the police and its stakeholders, and assisting the IGP in realizing his Mission and Vision for the Force and the nation.

    Read Also: EFCC charges five for attempted fraud

    “A passionate and versatile police officer who has worked in multiple police units and departments across the country, Mba has attended some of the finest Law Enforcement trainings, both within and outside Nigeria. These include; Countering Violent Extremism and Police Leadership Course at the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA), Roswell, New Mexico, USA (2018); Strategic Leadership and Command Course, Police Staff College, Jos (2017); Crisis and Disaster Management Course, Israel (2013); Managing the Media in Crisis Situations, School of Media and Communications, Pan Atlantic University, Lagos (2013); US-sponsored International Visitor Leadership Program, with special focus on International Crime Issues, Washington DC (2010); General Criminal Investigation Course at the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA), Botswana (2009); Middle Management Course on Global Peace Operations in Vicenza, Italy (2008); amongst others.

    “He was a member of the Nigeria Police Contingent to the United Nations Peace-Keeping Mission in Liberia between 2006 and 2007, where he distinguished himself through a combination of hard work, professionalism, and discipline, thereby earning himself the prestigious UN Medal. He has since assumed duty as the Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), Force Headquarters, Abuja.”