Posted by By MURPHY GANAGANA, Abuja on
Worried by incessant bank robberies across the country in recent times, President Olusegun Obasanjo has queried the Acting Inspector General of Police, Mr. Sunday Ehindero.
Worried by incessant bank robberies across the country in recent times, President Olusegun Obasanjo has queried the Acting Inspector General of Police, Mr. Sunday Ehindero.
Confirming this however, Ehindero has blamed police inability to curtail the situation on the laxity of some police commissioners and assistant inspectors general of police (AIGs).
Addressing top police officers from the rank of CPs and above in Abuja Wednesday, Ehindero declared his unwillingness to bear the brunt of any officer's inadequacies.
"Within a month, the President has given me two directives bordering on how you perform your duties. The first is on luxury bus robberies, while the second is on cases of robbery in banks particularly at night. I must tell you that you must do your duty and I am not prepared to bear the responsibility for your inefficiency," Ehindero pointedly told the officers.
Besides the failure of some CPs and AIGs in the performance of their supervisory roles, Ehindero expressed concern that the police have lost control of their firearms, most of which are believed to be in the hands of evil men.
Alarmed by his discovery, Ehindero has handed a one week ultimatum to the Force Armament Officer, commissioners of police, and AIGs in charge of the zonal commands for a thorough audit of all police firearms and ammunition up to the divisional level, just as he directed that only Superior Police Officers (SPOs) should henceforth be in charge of armoury.
"We are not in control of our arms, I must tell you. When visiting rounds are no longer there and arms are no longer being checked, why will crime not go up? I am saying this because I know the tone with which the President spoke to me. And I know that there is laxity in most of these commands".
Announcing stiff penalties for officers who fail in the performance of their duties, Ehindero said henceforth, CPs and AIGs would be queried for any bank robbery in their commands, while anyone who proves incapable of holding a command appointment will be sent on compulsory leave.
He expressed dismay that some CPs and AIGs are not abreast with incidents of crime within their jurisdiction, disclosing that he had personally alerted some of them on cases as serious as armed robbery.
"Most of you just sit down doing nothing. Some of these robbers operate for two to three hours and all the police do is to watch. You must do your duty. I will not be associated with irresponsibility. So, if the President calls me again on this robbery issue without the CP or AIG getting to me first, that CP or AIG will be queried. You don't need the IGP to tell you what to do," Ehindero stressed.
Assuring that the rising spate of bank robberies would soon be nipped in the bud, the acting IGP directed that all available arsenal, including Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC), should now be deployed in combating robbery incidents.