LAGOS MAY 23RD (URHOBOTODAY)-The Commissioner of Police in Delta, Mr Usman Baba, on Saturday has warned officers under his command to desist from mounting road blocks. Baba said this when he addressed the officers and rank and file at the conference hall of the `A Division Warri’ in Warri, Delta.
He said that henceforth any officer caught would face the wrath of the law. The commissioner said that the warning was in line with the directives of the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Solomon Arase. NAN recalls that the Arase had recently held an interactive section with the police personnel in Abuja, where he warned against road blocks and other forms of indiscipline in the profession. Baba said that the Inspector-General of Police had zero tolerance for corruption and indiscipline, and urged them to conduct themselves properly. “Road blocks can come in various forms; it is not necessarily when you use obstacles to block the road and check vehicles. “Nobody has stop you from `stop and search’ but it must be diligent, transparent and result-oriented. “You must be polite, professional and ask questions that will not portray your organisation as a beggar. “Oga your boys are here,” “we dey for road,” “we are working for you”: these are not good utterances in the discharge of duties and responsibilities,” he said. Baba urged all the Divisional Police Officers (DPO’s) in the Warri Area Command to hold similar lecture with their officers on the need to imbibe professional conduct. He said the Nigeria Police was not a charity organisation, adding that officers must strive to justify the responsibility given to them by the government. “When you are contented with what you have, you must definitely get what is due to you without necessarily going out to get it by hook or crook. “I advise everyone here to be an ambassador of this profession so that you can become glaring to the public and get support from them,” he said. The commissioner said the police must imbibe attitudinal change, rededicate themselves and make sacrifice in order to meet the high expectations of the public in the incoming administration. He said that the command had recently taken delivery of sizeable number of vehicles to enable it carry out patrol duty effectively. “Recently, we collected 24 vehicles and deployed them to our highways and sometime this week, we have also collected some vehicles and put in various routes to patrol the highways. “So, we are getting tools to work; all that is needed now is our commitment to duty,” he said. Baba also urged the personnel to maintain discipline in all ramifications, including dressing, adding that there was a code of conduct regulating dressing in the police force. Earlier, before the arrival of the commissioner, the Warri Area Commander, ACP Mohammed Mu’azu, warmed the officers against extorting money from the public. “Desist from the act of mounting road blocks and extorting money from people, when you are caught, you will face the consequence,’’ Mu’azu said. Mu’azu advised them to always apply the fundamental `3 A’ of the profession which were: Adjust, Adopt and Acclimatise to any given situation. “IGP does not tolerate corruption so we should heed to his order by way of applying the 3 A’ of the profession. “We should imbibe the cultural revolution in the profession to change our attitude, police is a problem solver and not to compound peoples’ problems. “We should be the people’s police; this is democracy, our good conduct will increase the public confidence in us,’’ Mu`azu said.