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Tag: IG

  • We lose 9,028 officers annually to death, dismissal, retirement – IG

    The Inspector General of Police ( IGP), Mr Ibrahim Idris says the Nigeria Police Force loses 9,028 officers to death, dismissal, and retirement annually.

    Idris made the disclosure at the monthly meeting with Commissioners of Police and other top-ranking officers of the force on Wednesday in Abuja.

    The IGP said that the development had seriously affected the manpower of the force.

    He noted that the 308, 000 police workforce was grossly inadequate for the effective policing of the more than 180 million people in the country.

    The police boss said that the country was far below the UN standard of one policeman to 400 persons adding that the Federal Government had approved the recruitment of 6,000 policemen into the rank and file.

    “The issue of manpower is one problem the Nigeria Police Force is facing,” he said.

    On the attachment of policemen to private persons, Idris said that the force would review it to ensure that they worked for the general public.

    “There is a need for us to have a police that will work for the generality of Nigerians,” he said.

    He said that he had directed police commissioners and zonal Assistant Inspectors-General of Police, to compile the number of policemen attached to individuals in the country.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 directed that police personnel attached to unauthorized and some prominent persons in the country be withdrawn and deployed to confront the security challenges in the nation.

    The Chairman, Police Service Commission (PSC), Mr Mike Okiro, said that more than 150,000 policemen were attached to unauthorized persons and Very Important Personalities (VIPs) in the country.

    He said that the meeting was aimed at having a comprehensive resolution on the issue of illegal firearms in the country.

    Idris noted that the alleged arming of militia groups by state governments and individuals was not in the interest of the country.

    He urged the commissioners of police to embark on campaign against illegal firearms in their various commands.

    Idris said that plans were underway to construct an armoury for the storage of illegal firearms seized from militias across the country.

    He said that the force had taken several measures to check security challenges across the country.

  • Killings: I-G deploys 3 additional Police Mobile Force units to Zamfara

    The Inspector-General of Police (I-G), Mr Ibrahim Idris, has deployed additional three units of Police Mobile Force (PMF) to Birane village in Zurmi Local Government Area of Zamfara, to forestall further loss of lives.

    TheNewsGuru reports that bandits suspected to be cattle rustlers had on Feb. 14 killed 18 persons in Birane village.

    TNG also reports that seven PMF units were recently deployed to the state to augment the personnel of the Police Command there.

    A statement by the Force spokesman, CSP Jimoh Moshood, said that Idris gave the directive after a visit to the state to carry out on-the-spot assessment of the incident.

    He said that the I-G, who was accompanied by the AIG Zone 10, Sokoto, and commissioners of police in the zone, held a stakeholders’ meeting with the people.

    Moshood said that that a joint investigation team headed by the Assistant Inspector -General of Police in charge of intelligence at the Force Headquarters was also dispatched to the state.

    He said that the team was under a definite and strict mandate to arrest and bring to justice the perpetrators of the killings and investigate the remote and direct causes of the mayhem.

    “They are further directed by the I-G to arrest and disarm all suspected bandits, militias and criminal groups in possession of prohibited firearms and restricted weapons in the region,“he said.

    Moshood said that the I-G had also placed Commissioners of Police, their Supervising Assistant Inspectors-General of Police and all Personnel of the Force in States Contiguous to Zamfara on red alert.

    According to him, normalcy has been restored in the area and the situation is under control.

    The spokesman assured the people of Zamfara and other states in the country of adequate protection of their lives and property.

    “The Force, therefore, encourages them to go about their lawful activities without fear or apprehension but support and cooperate with the Police personnel deployed in their localities,“ he said.

     

  • Insecurity: We are prepared for 2019 polls – IG

    The Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, affirmed on Thursday the Force was well prepared for the 2019 general elections.

    Idris stated this during a chat with journalists in Lagos after the public presentation of his book, Security and Justice: The Pathway for Peace and Reconciliation in Nigeria.

    He said: “We are prepared for the elections. We have the men and we have the materials (logistics) to carry out our duties before, during and after the elections successfully.”

    According to the IGP, there was need for justice and reconciliation in order to enthrone meaningful development.

    Idris noted that security challenges across the country could be contained if Nigerians pursued true reconciliation and shunned inflammatory comments.

    Idris added: “The challenges we are having with this herdsmen have gone down. In Benue, we have 15 units on ground and I have been monitoring their successes.

    “I was in Benue and we have been having stakeholders’ meeting and we have been discussing.

    “Based on that, people have been coming openly to state their problems and it is through that we can understand each other and reconcile our differences.

    “The role of traditional rulers in this reconciliation process cannot be over emphasised because most of them have the ears of their people. When you have political disagreement in these communities, these traditional rulers are handy.”

    Dedicating his book to officers and men of the police, Idris said proceeds from its sale would be used to fund the security and justice initiative, a foundation being established for the promotion of peace, security and reconciliation in Nigeria.

    On why he wrote the book, the IGP said: “My experience as a police officer over the years in Nigeria, with the United Nations headquarters in New York, peace keeping operations in other countries and above all as the IGP has taught me that internal peace is a pivotal element for instituting and sustaining democratic government.

    “That justice is most needed as an instrument of reconciliation and conflict management and that the role of the judiciary and security agencies in dispensing justice is imperative in ensuring peace in any country.

    “I have watched with troubled heart the security challenges confronting this country. The challenges of Boko Haram in the North East, kidnappings and armed robberies, cattle rustling and militancy in virtually all parts of Nigeria.”

  • Herdsmen/farmers clashes: Soyinka blasts Buhari, IG; backs call for establishment of state police

    …Says Buhari operating under trance

    Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka on Tuesday backed calls for the establishment of state police as the only effective panacea to solving the recurring herdsmen, farmers clashes that has led to unnecessary waste of lives and destruction of properties.

    The Nobel laureate also said some recent actions of President Muhammadu Buhari showed that he had been operating under a trance.

    The sooner he gets out of that trance, Soyinka said, the better for the country.

    Soyinka spoke at a press conference on the damaging consequences of marauding herdsmen on the nation.

    With the theme: “Herdsmen and Nation: Valentine Card or Valedictory Rites?” the dramatist gave an analogical tale of a state whose master’s insensitivity allows for the overbearing actions of his subjects.

    He lamented that mass destruction of farmlands in the most horrifying manner had become a norm, festering with the encouragement of the government’s body language.

    Soyinka described as appalling the position of the Inspector General of Police that the loss of lives in Benue State, and consequent increase in the number of internal refugees, was simply a communual clash.

    In his view, little will be achieved in security without state police.

    “If the IG can sit in Abuja and say of an event that is happening under the jurisdiction of a governor in another state is just a communal clash when people are being slaughtered and their villages are being occupied, it shows complete alienation. Then there is the authority of Governors who have the ultimate authority for security. It is the governor who is supposed to be the chief security officer. We are now back to authoritative voices saying indeed, state police need to be decentralised. We have been saying it and others have been saying for a long time. We are now getting back to the commonsensical issue that the nation cannot function under a single police command,” he said.

    Acknowledging, however, that the Nigerian Army has done marvelously in degrading the capacity of the Boko-Haram insurgents, the poet-activist said “it must now turn around to face another phenomenon which is considered in some international circles deadlier than the Boko-Haram”.

    According to him, the containing efforts happening now should have begun six months as he expected the force to have immediately transferred its concentration from operations, such as Python Dance and Crocodile Smile to where the heat was.

    He said the security agencies have the responsibility to look at highly-placed people in whose interest anarchy can be fostered.

    Soyinka added: “Why colonies were brought in to complicate things, I do not know. Ranches; that’s the word used everywhere. There is no organized illegal force that does not sooner or later spin up. Are these internally generated or are they being launhed by individuals who in their interest the nation must be in a state of anarchy? We sometimes talk about corruption but we don’t understand how far corruption goes. When you think of the amount being stolen in this country, enough funds illegal fund to destabilise the country. We might end up discovering that some of these people profit from ensuring there is chaos from Maiduguri to Lagos.”

    Speaking on restructuring, Soyinka said: “Sooner or later, people will recognise the fact it’s not broken record they are listening to, it’s their hearing that is impaired. In other words, we have been shouting restructuring, now its inevitability has always been stressed. The internal relationship of the units of this country be decentralised. And anytime you talk about restructuring, you hear this gibberish that the sovereignty of this country will not be compromised. Who is talking about sovereignty? We are saying the internal components of the country needed to be addressed … We must decentralise governance.”

    Asked what he would tell President Buhari if he met him, the Nobel laureate said: “I would say: Mr President, I think you are under a trance. “The sooner he gets out of it the better. So many unforced errors are going on,” he added.

    Prof. Soyinka cited Buhari’s recall of the Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Usman Yusuf, after he was suspended for alleged graft by Minister of Health Isaac Adewole, as a recent example of the unforced errors that have characterised the administration.

     

  • Herdsmen/farmers’ clashes: Enactment of anti-open grazing law responsible for killings in Benue, Taraba – IG

    The Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris on Friday identified the controversial anti-open grazing laws in Benue and Taraba states as the source of the unending crisis in the two middle belt states.

    The police boss told s Senate Joint Committee on Police Affairs and National Intelligence that the enactment of the laws against the opposition of herdsmen was responsible for the problem in the states.

    Idris appeared before the joint committee in camera following the directive of the Senate in plenary that he should be summoned to explain why he failed to comply with the mandate of the upper chamber to apprehend perpetrators of the January 1st mayhem in Benue state.

    Herdsmen suspected to be Fulani swooped on two Benue communities on New Year Day and killed not less than 73 persons.

    Chairman, Senate Committee on Police Affairs, Senator Abu Ibrahim, refused to brief reporters after the closed door interface with the IGP.

    Ibrahim insisted that he would only report back to the Senate as directed.

    A source close to the committee, however, said that Idris was categorical that the anti-open grazing laws in Benue and Taraba should be blamed for the continuing killings in the states.

    The source also said that the IGP told the committee that a number of arrests have been made.

    The police boss was said to have told the committee that over 120 people have bee arrested as those behind the crisis in the states.

    Asked whether the IGP wanted the laws scrapped, the source noted that Idris was not categorical on the issue of scrapping the laws in the two states.

  • IGP case: Court warns Sen. Misau against making statements in media

    High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Maitama, Abuja, on Monday cautioned the senator representing Bauchi Central Senatorial District, Isah Misau, against making further comments in the media on issues bordering on the charges for which he was being prosecuted.

    The Federal Government on Monday re-arraigned the senator before the court on amended charges of spreading malicious falsehood of corruption and unethical practices against the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris, and others.

    After Misau, a former police officer, pleaded not guilty to the amended charges, on Monday, the lead prosecuting counsel, Dr. Alex Izinyon (SAN), urged the court to issue “a caveat” to the defendant on the need to be “circumspect” in further making comments on the subject of the charges in the media.

    “If that happens, I will come formally before this court,” Izinyon said.

    But in response, Misau’s lawyer, Mr. Paul Erokoro (SAN), said his client had not and would not make such comments.

    “But we must also remember that the defendant is a senator,” Erokoro added.

    The trial judge, who is also the Chief Judge of the FCT High Court, Justice Ishaq Bello, urged the defence lawyer to advise his client.

    The Chief Judge said, “It’s your duty to wisely advise your client as rightly noted by the prosecution.

    “We know what the law says concerning comments as a senator.”

    After Misau pleaded not guilty to the amended seven counts on Monday, the prosecution informed the court that, to prove the charges against Misau, they had applied for a subpoena to be issued on Channels Television for the production of the video clips where the senator had allegedly made malicious claims against the IGP and others.

  • #ENDSARS: IG bows to pressure, bans SARS from conducting stop and search operations

    …orders new recruits to undergo psychiatric tests

    The Inspector-General of Police, Mr Ibrahim Idris, has banned the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigeria Police Force from conducting stop and search operations on roads except when necessary.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that some group of Nigerians recently in the social media, called for the scrapping of SARS over alleged harassment of innocent Nigerians, using the #EndSARS.

    Following the allegation, the Inspector- General of Police , Mr Ibrahim Idris, promised to restructure and reposition the unit for effective service delivery.

    Idris also warned members of the group against acting as body-guards, delving into land matters and debt collection that were considered civil.

    He further warned that members of the unit must only embark on operations with the permission of the commissioner of police in charge of SARS in the police commands.

    “You must operate in official uniform clearly marked for identification.

    “I just want to warn you all here that any officer caught engaging in these activities will be dealt with accordingly.

    “The Nigeria Police force under my leadership shall operate strictly guided by the human rights principles as enshrined in the United Nations charter on human rights,”he said.

    He mandated the Inspector-General of police’s monitoring units and the X-squad and other over sights unit of the force to monitor the activities of the SARS.

    The police boss noted that the establishment of the unit was due to activities of the men of the underworld.

    He said that as part of measures to check the unit, they would be solely mandated to confront only armed robbery cases and violent crimes in the country,

    Idris also said that men deployed to SARS would undergo training, continuous assessment and psychometric test to determine their suitability or otherwise.

     

    NAN

     

  • Police IG bows to public outcry, orders investigation, restructuring of SARS

    Following calls on social media for the scrapping of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad on account of its nefarious activities, the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris has ordered immediate re-organisation of the unit.

    The police boss in a statement by the force spokesman, Jimoh Moshood on Monday in Abuja also ordered the investigation of all infractions, allegations and complaints against the operatives of the squad by the IGP X-Squad.

    He noted that the SARS had been doing well curbing violent crimes but expressed concern over the calls for its disbandment, noting that the unit would be re-organized and repositioned for efficiency and effective service delivery to all Nigerians.

    Idris said, “Under the new arrangement, a Commissioner of Police is now the overall head of the Federal Anti-Robbery Squad nationwide under the Department of Operations, Force Headquarters Abuja.

    “The Police Zonal Commands, State Commands and Divisions will continue to operate anti-crime units/sections, crime prevention and control squads and teams imperative to prevent and detect crimes and criminalities in their area of responsibility and other crack squads necessary to sustain law and order and protection of life and properties.

    The IG further added that the FSARS will now exist and operate in the state and zonal commands under the Commissioner of Police at the Force Headquarters.

    “A Federal SARS Commander of a Rank of Chief Superintendent of Police and not below Superintendent of Police will be in charge of FSARS in State and Zonal Commands across the country,” he stated.

    The statement explained that all Commissioners of Police have been directed by the IG to comply with the directive with immediate effect and to warn their personnel not to pose as SARS operatives.

    It noted that the X-Squad had been mandated to go round the commands and police formations nationwide to ensure strict compliance and apprehend any errant police officer.

    The police further stated that a new training programme to be organized by the Force in collaboration with some civil society organizations, local and international groups and human rights organisations on police duties and human rights would be held for all FSARS personnel nationwide.

     

    The force has however asked anyone with complaints against SARS personnel to report through any of the following channels for investigation and further actions:

  • We’ll secure Evans’ conviction soon – IG

    The Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris has said the police is working tirelessly to secure conviction against suspected billionaire kingpin, Chukwudumebi Onwuamaegbu, popularly called Evans.

    The IG, who gave the assurance yesterday in his keynote address at a public security lecture in Uyo hailed the National Assembly for passing the anti-kidnapping bill into law and recommending a death sentence for perpetrators.

    At the lecture with the theme: “Insecurity, socio-economic impacts and conflicts resolution perspectives”, the IGP said the police would also ensure that kidnap suspects are prosecuted in court as a way of checking incessant cases.

    “With humility, I must state with some amount of confidence that these strategies have worked based on successes achieved so far. Most heinous crimes, especially kidnapping and armed robbery, which occurred, have so far been detected.

    “You are very much aware of the fate of the notorious kidnapper, Henry Chibueze (alias Vampire) and the billionaire kidnapper, Chukwudi (alias Evans) and many others too numerous to mention here, who were arrested and many of them being prosecuted.

    “Considering the detailed investigation being conducted on these cases, Insha Allah, we must gain conviction”, he said.

    IGP Idris said the preventive strategies and arrests made by the police in recent times have helped in checking the activities of kidnappers, armed robberies and other heinous crimes in Kaduna-Abuja Express ways, South=South Zones and many parts of the country.

    He added that the problems of cattle rustling and insurgency in the Northeast and Northcentral as well as militancy in the Niger Delta are also being tackled by the police.

    “The ability of the Nigerian Police to control the secessionist tendency of IPOB in the Southeast is another success story, thanks to the Military Operation Python Dance in the Southeast,” the IG stated.

    Akwa Ibom Governor Udom Emmanuel said the issue of insecurity was not only the responsibility of security agencies but that of everyone.

    He, however, said for the Federal Government to succeed in its fight against insecurity, it must address the factors that cause insecurity in the Niger Delta.

     

  • Army/IPOB clash: IG briefs Osinbajo, rubbishes Wike’s allegations

    The Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris on Thursday briefed Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo on the crisis between the Nigeria Army and the Indigenous People of Biafra in Abia State and some parts of Rivers State.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the IG also berated the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, for claiming that men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad were armed robbers.

    Speaking to State House Correspondents at the end of the meeting which lasted almost an hour, the IG said the aim of the meeting was to ensure the security of all Nigerians.

    Asked to be specific about strategies he was adopting as regards events in the South-East, he said all critical stakeholders which include governors were being engaged to find a lasting peace.

    He said, “Obviously, one, is to deploy policemen across the country, two, we are in touch with the state government, trying to mobilize the political leadership to be able to intervene where necessary on how to lessen the tension in the South-East.

    Repeated clashes between Nigerian soldiers and IPOB agitators led by Nnamdi Kanu, forced Governor Okezie Ikpeazu to declare a three-day dusk-to-dawn curfew in the state.

    The police boss also described as nonsense, Wike’s allegation that the reported killing of a SARS officer during a foiled kidnap operation on Monday in the Oroazi area of the state was a confirmation that his men were involved in armed robbery and kidnapping.

    Idris said, “He (Wike) has the right to self expression. You know he is a governor.”

    Asked if he was not denying the allegation he replied, “Of course I have to deny that, that is nonsense. I have to deny that.

    “If a policeman was killed will you say he was involved in crime? I think you are mixing two different issues. A policeman was killed in Rivers in connection with this IPOB issue, is different from saying policemen are involved in crime. You cannot say someone that was attacked and killed is the one involved in crime.”

    When reminded that the governor alleged that the dead policeman was one of the three men that were suspected to be members of SARS who were attempting to kidnap someone and he died in the process, the IGP replied, “Who is the person they were attempting to kidnap?

    “I just want you to read between the lines. If you have leaders making sweeping allegations obviously it does not make sense.”