‘Dismissed policemen not fit to be in NPF’ – Police

Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, has stated that the Nigeria Police Force is not a social club, cooperative society, or association but a regimented unit, as he explained that its recently dismissed members of its personnel ‘were not fit’ to be in the service.

Responding to a suggestion made by a veteran Nollywood figure, Shan George, who urged that the police to rethink outright dismissal of erring personnel but rather explore the option of demotion, suspension or salary reduction, the police spokesperson said the dismissed officers were not fit to be in the service.

“So I woke up this morning and am hearing about another policeman that has been dismissed for misconduct or maybe one offense or another.

“I’m thinking that not a good idea to be dismissing them. You can demote, you can suspend, you can reduce the salary.

“You now have to actually dismiss them and put them back into the society as jobless people.

“A qualified policeman who has been doing a police job for while and now back on the street as Jobless. What do you think about it? That’s not just right please,” Ms George wrote.

However, responding via his Twitter handle, to Ms George’s suggestion, CSP Adejobi wrote: “Those dismissed policemen are not fit to be in the NPF. NPF is not a social club, or cooperative society, or association, it’s a regimented organisation, established and guided by the CFRN and other extant laws.

“It takes someone who has read the law or gone through the Nigeria Police Act 2020 or the Public Service Rules, or the Administration of CJ Act, to criticise the decision of the NPF management team on disciplinary matters, even at times, most of their misdeeds are criminal.

“So those who criticize the NPF should study the records of Service and history of the dismissed officers, before further reactions. After all, Newton said Actions and reactions are equal and opposite.”

It would be recalled that for the second time in a space of less than three weeks, the Nigeria Police dismissed two serving personnel over offences related to professional misconduct.

While one officer was filmed extorting a motorist, the other was also caught in viral video searching though a phone of a man.

Following the uproar caused on social media by both incidents, the Inspector General, Mr Usman Baba Alkali summoned the errant officers for questioning at the Force Headquarters in Abuja after which they were stripped of their uniforms and dismissed from the service.

In a statement confirming the second incident, last week, the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said the officer, identified as Corporal Opeyemi Kadiri was charged with ‘gross misconduct, disobedience, unlawful order, and assault on a member of the public, captured in a viral video on August 3, 2022.’

According to Adejobi, the dismissed Corporal Kadiri with Force No. 509745 was attached to the Dolphin Divisional Headquarters, Lagos Police Command.

“The dismissed officer who, enlisted into the Force on 6th December, 2016, was caught searching a commuter’s phone by the road side contrary to the directives of the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba, psc(+), NPM, fdc, to that effect.

“The Police hereby calls on officers and men of the Force to maintain professionalism and civility to members of the public in the discharge of their duties in line with extant laws.

“The Force equally calls on members of the public to ensure proper conduct in all encounters with police officers to avoid infractions which may be subject to prosecution,” the statement read.

The dismissed Kadiri, who was seen in a video on Twitter searching a man’s phone in Lagos, was summoned to Abuja to appear before the IGP Baba, at the police headquarters in Abuja.

Also confirming the development on Friday, the Lagos Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, noted that the IGP, Thursday, personally interrogated Kadiri with other members of the Force Management Team.

“We will update you with the outcome of his trail asap,” SP Hundeyin stated.

A video which heavily trended on Twitter showed CPL Kadiri searching the phone of a man who kept telling him, “…collected my phone and was searching, whereby the Inspector General of Police has said it on TV that you should not search our phone. Why are you searching my phone?”

Also late July, this year, the police similarly dismissed an Inspector attached to its Mobile Force unit for extortion of motorists.

The dismissed officer had in a viral and trending video made by a commuter which caught him extorting motorists had also publicly boasted that the ‘even the Inspector General of Police knows and cannot stop him from extortion.’

However, in a swift reaction after the video went viral of social media, the police authorities summoned the officer to its Abuja Headquarters and dismissed him from the service while also publicly de-kitting him of the uniform.

The officer, identified as Mr. Richard Gele, said to hail from Benue State, joined the police in 2020.

He was allegedly filmed by a commuter showing him extorting motorists along the Itobe – Anyigba Road in Kogi, the video which was uploaded to social media sites trended all week.

A statement confirming the development issued by the Force Public Relations Officer, Mr Olumuyiwa Adejobi, Friday, disclosed that the dismissed officer was attached to the Police Mobile Force 77 Squadron, Okene, Kogi State.

“The Nigeria Police Force has dismissed one Mr. Richard Gele, the Police Inspector caught in a viral video dignifying and justifying extortion of members of the public and official corruption which trended from the 25th of July, 2022.

“The Inspector, with AP/No. 188547, who until his dismissal, was attached to Police Mobile Force 77 Squadron, Okene, Kogi State and deployed to the Itobe – Anyigba Road, for safety of road users and commuters, along the route, where the incident occurred.

“The dismissed Inspector who hails from Benue State, was enlisted into the Force in September, 2000.

“His dismissal came after subjection to internal disciplinary mechanism and being found wanting of the charges levelled against him in line with extant laws governing the conduct of police personnel.

“He therefore ceases to be a member of the Nigeria Police Force with immediate effect. The officer has been de-kitted and handed over to the Commissioner of Police, Kogi State, for further necessary action.

“The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba, psc(+), NPM, fdc, while expressing the staunch commitment of his administration at bequeathing policing standards in tandem with international best practices to the nation, warned all personnel to eschew extortion, unprofessionalism, official corruption and other inappropriate acts.

“The IGP urged them to display exemplary courage and patriotism in the discharge of their duties,” read the statement by Adejobi.