Posted by From MURPHY GANAGANA, Abuja on
Inspector General of Police, Mike Okiro, has ordered the seizure of 400 vehicles imported by the Police Equipment Foundation (PEF).
Inspector General of Police, Mike Okiro, has ordered the seizure of 400 vehicles imported by the Police Equipment Foundation (PEF).
Authoritative police sources told Daily Sun on Thursday in Abuja that the IGP gave the directive following suspicion on the indiscriminate donation of vehicles imported by the foundation to several other organizations under the pretext that it was meant for the police.
Consequently, an angry Okiro ordered that some recently imported vehicles, numbering about 400, made up of mainly patrol jeeps and other brands of cars, which had been cleared by PEF and are awaiting distribution to organizations other than the police, be impounded.
It was further gathered that the vehicles were already set for distribution when the IGP got wind of the move and directed that all the 400 vehicles be seized.
This was, however, after he had rushed to the Aso Rock Villa to brief President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, who promptly directed the IGP to impound the vehicles.
Police Force Public Relations Officer, Agberebi Akpoebi (ACP), who confirmed the seizure, said that the vehicles have been allocated to the various police commands across the country for patrol.
Sources close to the Louis Edet House force headquarters told Daily Sun that the police hierarchy was not pleased with the way PEF had been donating the vehicles supposedly meant for the police to different organizations.
It would be recalled that the initial objective of the Foundation was to raise funds and equip the police. But the situation changed dramatically, shortly after the commencement of the project.
Available information indicates that since the project began, the police had only received about 350 vehicles from PEF.