IG of Police goes tough, orders dismissal, transfer of erring police officers

Inspector General of Police [IGP] Solomon Arase has directed that several police officers, including an assistant commissioner of police, should be severely punished for unprofessional conduct to serve as example for others who are yet to accept the new spirit of reforms and reorientation in the force.

In what was described as a strong determination to infuse discipline and respect for human rights among police personnel, the IGP approved the dismissal of some officers, ordered redeployment of the entire police division of a state, placed many policemen on suspension and commenced investigations into reports connecting 16 junior officers with a wide range of misconducts, including bribery, misuse of firearms and drunkenness on duty.

Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olabisi Kolawole, disclosed at a press conference yesterday, that the IGP took the action based on recommendations from the Nigeria Police Force Complaint Response Unit (CRU) established on November 13, 2015 to enforce discipline and the IGP’s reform agenda among police personnel and reduce growing conflicts between the police and members of the public.

ACP Kolawole, who was flanked by members of the Complaint Response Unit (CRU) at the briefing, said the public will be periodically informed on the activities of the task force, explaining that in the past 100 days since it was set up, Lagos State sent in the highest number of reports of human rights violations with 434 complaint, while none came from Imo, Jigawa and Kebbi states, presumably due to lack of public awareness.

Although precise information about the exact states where the officers punished are serving the names and numbers of those involved were not provided, the police spokesperson said the “CRU operations led to disciplinary actions against several officers up to the rank of assistant commissioner of police, while several others, including the entire DPOs in a state were redeployed from their duty posts.

“Police officers have also been dismissed for professional misconduct and 16 junior officers are currently facing serious disciplinary actions for professional misconduct.”

Kolawole said despite the far-reaching impact of the task force, the police would soon commence a nationwide social mobilisation and sensitization campaign to create awareness about the activities of the Complaint Response Unit (CRU) throughout the federation.

She stressed on the importance that the IGP placed on the activities of the CRU, adding that arrangements have been made to translate relevant information on how to make complaints to the task force into several local languages for wider reach.

“The IGP has restated his commitment to make officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force more responsive and accountable for their actions and inactions as part of his policy thrust, anchored on training and retraining of police officers,” she said.

Capacity building workshop aimed at identifying professional misconduct indicators is said to have also been organised for members of the Complaint Response Unit (CRU) at the Force Headquarters, Abuja.

The workshop, which was organised by the office of the Vice President and the Nigeria Police Force in collaboration with the Munk School of Global Affairs University of Toronto, Canada, was aimed at sharpening the skills of the officers and men of the Complaint Response Unit in handling complaints from members of the public as they affect the actions and inactions of the officers and men of the Force.

The police also gave phone numbers to the public for complaints against police men. These are: 08057000001 and 08057000002. SMS: 08057000003.

Newswatch