'ANY OFFICER WHO INCURS DAMAGES WILL PAY WITH HIS WAGES'- POLICE IG,Arase.

The Inspector-General of Police (IG-P), Mr
Solomon Arase, on Monday warned officers of the
force against violating human rights in the course
of their duties.
Arase gave this warning while speaking at the
welcome programme organised by the state Police
Community Relations Committee (PCRC) for him in
Osogbo.
According to him, any police operative who made
the force to incur a court order following cases of
human rights violations would be made to pay for
it from his/her wages.
Arase particularly warned against indiscriminate
arrest, long detention and extortion of suspects
by some officers.
The IG-P enjoined policemen to always respect
human rights, stressing that arrests “don’t have
to be made before cases are investigate”.
He also cautioned policemen against collecting
bribes from the public, saying that such acts
made officers looked like beggars receiving alms.
“These bribes cannot translate into anything
tangible,” he said.
Arase challenged the officers to set standards so
that the public could respect them, stressing that
investigations should be intelligence-driven.
Besides, he advised policemen against adopting
custodial approach to policing and dabbling into
civil cases as they could engage in arbitration and
mediation instead of detaining individuals and
demanding for surety for bail.
On return of check-points nationwide, Arase said
it was a way of preventing crimes, adding that
36,000 officers were scheduled to attend
promotion courses soon.
He said the force had lost 435 officers this year
alone but commended the Osun state Police
Community Relations Committee (PCRC) for
supporting the force and being well organised.
Mr Amitolu Shittu, the state Chairman of the
(PCRC), commiserated with the IG-P on the loss of
about 435 police officers.
Shittu prayed God to give the family of the
deceased fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.
The chairman commended the IG-P for
addressing the issue of insurgents in parts of the
Northern region since he assumed office as well
as the issue of cultism, kidnapping and other
related criminal activities.
He, however, demanded for the creation of five
additional Area Commands to increase the
number of the existing area commands in the
state to eight. (NAN)