Lockdown: Don’t trample on the rights of Nigerians- IGP warns police officers

The Inspector General of Police, Adamu Adamu, has cautioned men of the Nigeria Police Force currently deployed for the enforcement of the lockdown and social restriction orders, to ensure that they do not trample on the rights of Nigerians upon under any pretext.

The police chief gave the warning in a statement released by the spokesperson of the Nigeria Police Force, Frank Mba.

Adamu in the statement stressed that persons on essential duties that have been duly exempted from the restriction orders, should be accorded due courtesies and unfettered access to and fro their places of duty.

The IGP notes that the global community is now in extra-ordinary times, with the lockdown taking its tolls on every component of our national life. Therefore, all police officers deployed for the enforcement of these restriction orders must be professional, humane and tactful and must show utmost respect to the citizenry. To this end, the IGP has directed Command Commissioners of Police to immediately commence conduct monitoring of Police Officers deployed on enforcement duties in their areas of responsibilities.

The IGP has equally charged Zonal Assistant Inspectors General of Police (AIGs) across the nation to ensure adequate supervision of personnel under their watch, as well as due compliance with the Standard Operating Procedure guiding this special task. The AIGs and CPs are also to ensure robust anti-crime patrols and surveillance around vulnerable targets such as medical facilities, shops and markets, residential areas, financial institutions and Automated Teller Machines (ATM) points, amongst others so that criminals do not take undue advantage of the current COVID-19 challenge to perpetrate crimes against the citizenry” the statement read in part