Don’t detain suspects beyond 24 hours – Abubakar

 Acting Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, has warned Deputy Commissioners of Police in charge of zonal formations and state commands against detaining suspects beyond 24 hours.

He said any senior officer that flouted the directive would be sanctioned. He said he had set up a monitoring team to ensure compliance at all state and zonal commands of the police force and to track policemen who abandoned their duties.

Abubakar took the DCPs to task over their poor policing styles and conduct. He said they must re-evaluate their policing strategies, stressing that the full effect of their posting had not been felt over the years.

Addressing the DCPs at the Force Headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday, Abubakar told the officers that the time for excuses was over as they were now in an era that demanded results.

The police boss said he would hire external assessors to conduct examinations for senior officers, pointing out that anyone that performed woefully would be asked to leave the service.

Abubakar, who said he would not condone indiscipline in the Force, stressed that he had made up his mind to bring in radical transformations in the Police and improve on the capability of the force to discharge its constitutional responsibility.

Abubakar said, “Structurally, the Police is dying and you (DCPs) are there. This is too bad. Delegation of responsibilities must be the core of police assignment and I will hold you (DCPs) and the Commissioners of Police in the various commands collectively liable for any lapses noticed henceforth in your commands or your duty posts.

“Look at how our Criminal Investigation Bureau has died, completely. It is because we do what we like that we are where we are today. It is shameful that we bring in soldiers to guard Police Barracks. If we can’t guard ourselves, can we guard others? All these indiscipline and lack of commitment to duty must stop and I will not take kindly to any of you found to be performing below expectation.

“Under your nose, our officers are collecting money for posting. Any time we post men to you and you keep them more than two weeks without posting them out to their duty posts, we shall cancel such posting and return them; what ever happens to you, you bear the consequences.”

The acting IG insisted that the general attitude of policemen must change and he would not tolerate dereliction of duty by officers. He noted that apart from fully cooperating with the government committee headed by the Chairman of the Police Service Commission, Mr. Parry Osayande, he had set up a monitoring team to track policemen who abandoned their duties.

He said, “Look at how our policemen have turned to begging on our roads; the only thing (left) is for them to use calabash to beg for money. This can no longer be tolerated. We have set up a committee to monitor that, but any command found to still indulge in this, because you know it is happening, will be restructured; from the CP, DCP and down the line.”