SAN FRANCISCO, August 07, (THEWILL) – In a bid to rid the Nigeria Police Force, NPF, of corruption, the acting Inspector-General of Police, IGP Ibrahim Idris, has stated that all police officers in the country must declare their assets.
Speaking at the Force Headquarters in Abuja during a courtesy call on him by members of a civil rights organisation, Nigerians Unite Against Terror, on Friday, he stressed that “Every police officer must declare their assets”.
Idris further warned police officers against violating their code of conduct, asserting that his administration would go hard on officers who contravene the rules.
According to him, “We are going to be very tough on our police officers who go outside our code of conduct. When I took over and told people that I am declaring my assets, it looked surprising, people took it as if I was doing something magical but that is what the law says. You cannot work without declaring your assets.”
“You must declare your assets and as policemen we are the ones checking the vices, so we cannot be part of those that are increasing the vices in the society and I still stand by my word.”
“I have declared my assets even before and after I became IG of police because it is a constitutional requirement. I believe every police officer should do that.”
“What kills most Nigerians is lack of contentment; you will see somebody amassing wealth that he and even his grandchildren do not need throughout their life time. I don’t know what drives people like that. For me, I believe that with contentment, you will have peace of mind.”
The police boss promised to set up a special committee comprising the police and members of the civil society organisations to develop a strategy on how to improve the image of the police.
His words, “We need to sit down and set up a panel; we are going to start a committee to interface on how to utilise our human resource because it is very important.”
“It is good people hear from the CSOs who are not policemen. People should hear from you on how the public now see the police.”
“People should give us the opportunity to prove ourselves; they will take it more serious from you.”
Idris disclosed that when he assumed duty as IGP, he promised to be guided by two major principles and police core values, in line with international best practices and democratic policing.
“The principles are that the police should be humane, that we should respect other people; and we should not look at people’s faces before we can apply the law. The law covers everybody, whether you are rich or poor,” he said.
The IGP however called on the public to stop denigrating the police whose duty is to protect lives and properties.
