David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka
The Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Zone 13, Ukpo, Anambra State, AIG Miller Gajere Dantawaye, has cautioned operatives of the Nigeria Police Force, Anambra State Command against indiscriminate arrest and detention of suspects to please complainants.
The AIG who was at the Anambra State Police Command on official visit since after his posting to the zone warned that the era of impunity and uninvited interference in public matters was over.
Speaking to officers of the command during the visit, Dantawaye said he would not take reports of indiscriminate arrest and detention of suspects lightly, warning against District Police Officers (DPO) maintaining dirty environment.
“There will be no more compromise in the force across the Zone 13 Ukpo jurisdiction under my watch as directed by the IGP. We must address and treat the people with civility. There is no way you will treat people with respect and they will not reciprocate your respect to them. You must also remember that we are being paid to protect with high level of civility.
“We must show respect to members of the public at any given time. We must try always to do the right thing to maintain and sustain the integrity of the force. We must improve our level of neatness, because, you can only be addressed the way you dressed while interfacing with the public.
“I am saying all these because, I am not an armchair Assistant Inspector General of Police. I may show up in your station unannounced. My leadership would not tolerate impunity and indiscipline from any officer working under the zone 13 jurisdiction.
“We must all work collaboratively with Anambra, Enugu and Ebonyi residents and our police colleagues at the above-mentioned states to keep the zone free of violent crimes, Dantawaye cautioned further.”
He charged officers to look towards suggesting to complainants the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) method to resolve crisis, instead of insisting on arresting opponents and detaining them.
“Every matter must not end in arrests and detention. Some of you just arrest and detain people because you want to please complainants. But I am warning you now that I will not treat you kindly if I hear such reports.
“You can also advise complainants on the need to resolve cases through ADR. We are here to maintain law and order and we must be seen to be doing so and not tools in the hands of people who want to oppress their opponents,” he said.
He stated that under his watch, officers will undergo training in various departments of crime prevention. He listed arms handling, intelligence gathering, investigation procedures, administration and others as the areas where officers will be trained on.