Police Begin Withdrawal of Personnel from VIPs

The Police Service Commission (PSC) in collaboration with the Inspector General Police (IG), has concluded arrangements to deploy a high level monitoring team to the nation’s airports, highways and other public places to enforce the presidential directive of immediate withdrawal of policemen from Very Important Personalities (VIP) who are not entitled to their services.

Chairman of the PSC, Mike Okiro, a retired Inspector General of Police, confirmed this in Abuja yesterday through a statement signed by the commission’s spokesperson, Ikechukwu Ani.

Okiro said the monitoring team would have the powers to stop VIPs’ on the highways, airports and other places for confirmation of their status and that of the policemen attached to them. Any erring VIP or policeman caught in such unauthorised beat, he said, would be prosecuted.

The PSC chairman said the commission and the leadership of the Nigeria Police would enforce the presidential directive to the latter, stressing that henceforth, only authorised government officials and VIPs’ would be entitled to police security.

Okiro noted that the nation cannot be battling with an inadequate police force while majority of these scarce officers are in the service of few privileged Nigerians who ordinarily should have no need for them.

He said the Nigerian Police would now be structured to do its primary duties of providing internal security and protecting lives and property.

The PSC Chairman said the commission would give the leadership of the police the required support and encouragement to enhance its efficiency and effectiveness.

He warned that the commission would not hesitate to discipline any police officer who would flout the presidential directive by hanging onto these VIPs’ for pecuniary gains.

“We cannot afford to have more than half of the population of the Police in private hands,” he stated.

(This Day)