BY KINGSLEY OMONOBI
ABUJA—Apparently dissatisfied with the level of performance of Police officers anytime terrorists strike at their positions, the Inspector general of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, has constituted a committee made up of the DIGs and AIGs at Force headquarters to carry out mass reorganization of the force.
ABUJA—Apparently dissatisfied with the level of performance of Police officers anytime terrorists strike at their positions, the Inspector general of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, has constituted a committee made up of the DIGs and AIGs at Force headquarters to carry out mass reorganization of the force.
The IGP has ordered AIGs, CPs, to send a comprehensive list of officers under their commands to Force Headquarters with immediate effect and Vanguard gathered that it is with a view to ascertaining the performance of officers in crisis and troubled areas to combat insecurity challenges facing the nation.
IGP, Mohammed Abubakar
Aside insecurity threats, the planned mass reorganization of the Nigeria Police will be used to checkmate corrupt tendencies and cases of human rights abuses, which though have reduced drastically still go on in some commands and stations, thereby making it difficult and slow in achieving the transformation policy of the Inspector General of Police.
Police sources told Vanguard that the IG’s directive which has the support of the Police Service Commission will be accompanied with records of their performance from the former commands or zone where the officers served as well as indicate the rank of the officers, and how long they have stayed in the zone or command.
Disclosing that Police High Command was aware of several tricks by officers including lobbying, pretences of having medical problems leading to some making arrangements with private doctors for exemptions while some were promising cash to buy their escape from the reorganization, Vanguard was told that the directive is a departure from what used to obtain in the past, as any police officer that is not included in the on-going compilation will be declared a ghost worker.
According to the source, because the IG is most disturbed, the Police boasts of some of the best trained officers in various sectors and branches of criminality, the fight against terrorism inclusive, and his men on ground who should know the nook and crannies of those areas are not able to stop these gunmen.
“In foreign lands or places where there are civil unrests and similar security challenges, Nigerian Police officers have helped checkmate the challenges but the reverse is the case at home; it is this spirit and dexterity the IG wants officers to bring to bear in the fight against insecurity”.
Though the source acknowledged that there were shortcomings, with regards to logistics, equipment and motivation, he noted the determination of the IGP to address them, adding that it is the belief of the Police that it (shortcomings) should not be used as a smokescreen to allow unwarranted killings of policemen, innocent citizens and destruction of property.
The new compilation and screening of records will also enable the Police management team know the number of officers that are actually working in the field and those that are redundant.
Before the directive was issued, there had been a floodgate of complaints from members of the public, that some officers have become untouchable and were also using the police to perpetuate unthinkable injustice in investigation of cases in their areas of command.
Disclosing that the minimum number of Policemen and officers in a command is 5,000 and when there is crisis only few of them are seen, the source said that the IGP has vowed to put a stop to this development.
Towards this end, the IGP it was gathered may have ordered immediate stoppage of policemen who claim to be on compassionate grounds until the reorganization of officers is carried out and the new impetus to improve security is attained.
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