ACTING INSPECTOR GENERAL OF POLICE, MOHAMMED ABUBAKAR

Police officers undergo trial for disregarding IG’s order on checkpoints

Police officer at a checkpoint; the acting IGP had ordered men of the force to remove checkpoints for the roads.

Eight police officers of the Abia State Command are undergoing trial for allegedly disregarding the Acting Inspector General’s order banning police from mounting check-points and individual patrolling on highways.

The officers were caught by the AIG’s monitoring team while visiting commands to ascertain compliance with directives on illegal detention and long detention without trial.

In response, the State Police Commissioner, Bala Hassan insists that his Command has fully complied with the acting IGP Mohammed Abubakar’s directive, saying that the AIG’s directive did not imply that policemen should not be seen on the roads.

In his words, “It is not true that there should be no police patrol on the roads. Only roadblocks are banned, vehicular and foot patrols are not affected”.

Mr. Hassan implored members of the public not to harass the police on the roads, noting that their presence is for the security of every law-abiding Nigerian. He also noted that since the IGP directives against roadblocks took effect, there had not been any robbery or criminal attack incidents recorded in the state.

Police Checkpoints returning Gradually to Lagos

It seems police officers decided not to comply anymore with the AIG’s (Mr. Muhammed Abubakar) order on the removal of all checkpoints across the country following the mounting of a checkpoint by some policemen at the Berger end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Tuesday night.

Before the acting AIG’s order, police officers mounted roadblocks on both sides of the expressway resulting in heavy traffic, extorting money from innocent Nigerians.

The order was initially adhered to for some weeks as the policemen are now back on the road, but mostly at night.

Commercial and truck drivers plying the road stressed that they were the targets of the policemen as they extorted money from them under the cover of the night.

Meanwhile, The Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of operations, Lagos State Command, Mr. Tunde Sobulo, said at a press briefing recently, that there was no way the police would dismantle all checkpoints.

In his words, “In the past, armed robbers were using Lagos and Edo states as their base in the South-West and that has long been checkmated since the police force got a wind of the information by beefing up security through checkpoints at these border towns.