The Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Ibrahim Idris has warned officers to desist from lobbying for promotions. Idris who gave the warning yesterday in Abuja at the IGP conference with senior officers, said any officer caught wanting will be prosecuted. The IG spoke shortly after decorating newly promoted Assistant Inspectors General of Police (AIGs). In a related development, the police boss has denied media reports that the recent postings carried out by his administration are lopsided.
Some officers of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) had accused Ibrahim Idris of witch-hunting, tribalism and favouritism. The aggrieved policemen told National Daily that recent transfers and postings of officers across the country violated principle of fairness in the force. But in reaction, the police authorities in a statement in Abuja yesterday by the force public relations officer Don Awunah, said transfers and postings in the Nigeria Police Force are administrative and routine.
Awunah explained that the rotation of officers is aimed at enhancing utmost efficiency of the officers and men for better and effective service delivery. “Posting in the service is based on exigencies and not on lobbying. Do not lobby. It is based strictly on seniority and vacancy. We have a management that assesses people based on these established criteria. We don’t want people lobbying here and there. I want my colleagues to please observe some of these issues, they are very important,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Police Command says it has arrested 17 policemen for acts of misconduct, including taking bribes. It is reported that the policemen were arrested between October 6 and 28 and are now undergoing an orderly room trial. It quoted a source as saying that some of the arrested policemen could be dismissed from the force while others could be demoted.