IGP to stop riot police men serving as personal guards

The Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris has vowed to enforce the withdrawal of riot policemen serving as personal guards.

He also said the ban on road block was a directive from the Federal Government and remains.

Idris, who also dismissed the rumour of the sack or forced retirement of some Assistant Inspectors General (AIGs) and other senior officers as mere speculation, spoke in Abuja during his maiden meeting with senior officers of the Force.

Some of the topics that were discussed include : Declaration of assets, withdrawal of Police Mobile Force,(PMF) personnel, restructuring of Special Anti Robbery Squad, PMF, Counter Terrorism Unit, formation of eminent persons forum in each state command, and establishment of joint operations centre in each state Command, among others.

Idris said: “I want to say that road blocks remain banned and it is not even a police policy, it is a directive from the federal government and we must abide by it.

“We are going to reinforce the X-Squad and they will check corruption within the police and at various levels in the civil servants. We are going to set them up at Commands and they will be used to check the illegal road blocks and I can assure you that they are going to be effective”.

On the withdrawal of Police Mobile Force (PMF) from Individuals, he said: “I was AIG Operation and I know the challenges we faced. What we are saying is that the PMF and the Counter Terrorism Unit are going to be withdrawn from individuals and this time, we mean it.

“We have more security challenges in the country and we cannot continue to deploy them as body guards. The PMF are not body guards, they are trained as response unit to take care of riot and they are going back to their primary responsibility.”

He added that the Special Protection Unit (SPU) would provide guard and protection for individuals.

In a related development, IGP Idris yesterday appointed DCP Don Awunah as the Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO) to replace acting ACP Olabisi Kolawole.

The outgoing spokesperson and first female FPRO, who disclosed this to newsmen in Abuja said the appointment was in line with the Force’s tradition.

Kolawole thanked the media for the support given to her and urged them to extend same maximum cooperation to the new spokesman.

Responding, Awunah promised to increase the good relationship between the Police and the public in line with the policy thrust of the Force.

He also urged the media to give him all the necessary support to effectively discharge his duty.

“I want to invite you to support the Nigeria Police Force to discharge its constitutional mandate of providing security to the people.

“I assure you of our cooperation. You know the I-G is passionate about the media,” he said.

Until his appointment, Awunah was the DCP in charge of Homicide Section of Force Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (FCIID) Abuja.

He holds B.A. Degree in Philosophy from the University of Lagos and M.A. in International Relations and Strategic Studies from Benue State University, Makurdi.

He is a Fellow of Institute of Security Studies (fsi), Fellow of Institute of Corporate Administration, and Member, Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR).

Buhari Sallau

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