The Lagos State Government on Monday urged law enforcement officers attached to the Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Kick against Indiscipline (KAI) and Neighbourhood Watch to respect people’s rights and pursue non-violence strategy while discharging their responsibilities.
The state governor, Babatunde Fashola gave the charge at a training programme, which office of Senior Special Assistant on Transport Education, Miriam Masha put in place for 7,960 law enforcement officers at the state Public Service Staff Development Centre (PSSDC), Magodo.
Speaking at the centre, the governor asked the enforcement personnel “to display the core values of integrity, courage, commitment, pride, professionalism, self-respect and respect for others and teamwork” in the course of discharging their core responsibilities of enforcing laws.
“As law enforcement officers, you will engage in the difficult yet important business of helping to regulate human behaviour on a daily basis. Your decisions, often taken on the spot, affect people’s lives. And you must bear that in mind in your decision making. Always remember that you are working for the people. You are their servant and not their master,” he said.
He also assured of the state government’s commitment to conducting effective training programmes, which he said, were consistent with contemporary minimum standards around the world.
Ms Masha explained the essence of the training programme, noting that it was organised “to prepare the law enforcement officers in the state for high service delivery and make them have better orientation and more focus so that they will be ethical on Lagos roads as well as promote law and order”.
She said that as a law enforcement officer, one “is not expected to apply unnecessary force while apprehending someone who has violated the law of the state. These are things that each of the officers under the state government must know. There is nothing new about this”.
While speaking with journalists, Special Assistant on KAI Matters, Dapo Bode-Thomas said law enforcement “does not always involve use of force,” noting that the programme would run through a period of 20 months.
He added that the training “involves two-week field activities where we are going to be engaging the public and listening to their opinions. The officers will spend two weeks in the classroom, making a one-month training programme”.
He further explained that the state government had set up a provost office with a mandate to monitor the conduct of KAI officers, saying after the training, anything the provost “gives reports concerning their attitude will be implemented. Governor Fashola will not take it lightly with them because we spent so much on this training and we expect them to change from good to better.”
