– Orders Dismantling of Roadblocks from Roads
THE Acting Inspector- General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, has said that future promotion in the Force would be strictly on merit. Addressing officers and men of the Akwa Ibom State Police Command in Uyo, Abubakar said henceforth whoever fails any course twice would be fired. He, however, assured the officers that the police would cater for their welfare anytime they are sent on any course against the old practice of having them to cater for themselves.
Abubakar, who called for attitudinal change among men and officers of the Force, regretted that the image of the police had been battered terribly. He urged them to change their attitude by serving with honesty and dedication. Abubakar said that “the era of corruption is over and if you take a kobo as bribe from anybody and get caught, that is outright dismissal from the police.
“Posting in the Nigeria Police today will strictly be by competence and ability in addition to performance, we must have a square peg in a square hole. He appealed to them to adequately secure the police stations and barracks. He equally advised them to respect constituted authority and partner other security agencies to fight crimes.
Meanwhile, a directive was also given by the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, that all police roadblocks on major roads in the South-West should be dismantled has been hailed as a right decision. Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) in-charge Zone 8, comprising Kwara, Kogi and Ekiti States, Mr Uzor Anakulor described the directive as a right step in the right direction.
Anakulor, who was in Akure, the Ondo state capital yesterday to attend a seminar organised by Vigilante Group of Nigeria (VGN) said the measure is aimed at sanitising the police. He said the IG is deeply committed to improving the quality of the force which has been bastardised by some bad eggs up till the recent past. Ankulor further stated, the Inspector General of Police wants to change the face of the Nigeria Police Force by injecting sanity into the system and improving the level of control.
“He also wants to improve the quality of the force. He needed to remove roadblocks because he wanted more officers and men to be engaged in the real work of policing, which involves intelligence gathering and crime detection. So, if there are no more roadblocks, we will naturally have more men engaged in field work. He also expressed the readiness of the police hierarchy to join hands with vigilance groups in reducing crimes in local communities”.
He charged the group to adopt effective measures to combat crime in the society especially in the grassroots, while advising them to avoid taking the law into their own hands and should always inform the police whenever they arrest criminals.
The south west coordinator of the group, Mr Tajudeen Akeusola said the seminar was organized to sensitize members from the 18 local government areas in the state. He explained that the group has been collaborating with the other security agencies in the state to curb crime. Akuesola called on the federal government to consider making the group an agency of government, saying it would encourage them to be more focused and committed.