IGP Urges Police To Assemble Evidence Before Detaining Suspects

The Inspector General of Police (IGP) has urged Police personnel to always assemble evidence before putting suspects behind bars in order not to deny them their rights.

IGP Solomon Arase made the appeal on Thursday during a one-day working visit to the Kwara State Police Command in Nigeria’s southwest region.

The Police boss stressed the need for the Police to ensure that enough evidences were assembled before effecting the detention of any suspect.

He stated that by international best practices, they are expected to distinguish between criminal, civil as well as commercial cases in order not to fall prey of the public who might want to deal with innocent persons using the Police.

He asked them to have good relationship with various communities and advocated monthly meetings between the Police and their host communities to iron out differences and also to get information that would be useful in combating crime.

In his response, the Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Sam Okaula, enumerated various challenges being faced in the command.

Some of the challenges include shortage of manpower of at least 3,000 policemen as well as insufficient equipment such as armoured personnel carriers and ammunition among others.

During an interactive session, some of the policemen pleaded with their boss to help promote them as some of them have been on one rank for years.

Some others want the boss to correct the imbalance in posting for peacekeeping operations.

IGP Arase, who said that he has no power to promote, however, gave them their next ranking in the acting capacity pending confirmation from the Nigerian Police Council.