… Calls for discipline in the rank and file
The Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of the Maritime Command, AIG Kalafite Helen Adeyemi has joined the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Suleiman Abba in warning the men and officers of the Nigeria Police Force of the consequences of embarking on any form of strike action which according to her was a treasonable offence.
AIG Adeyemi who gave out this warning in Lagos on Monday while addressing the men and officers of the Ports Authority Police Command, Western Ports, as part of his tour of the zone reminded the officers that if anyone was caught embarking on strike, such officer would be dismissed and punished on conviction.
According to her,” time will not permit me to go through all the above in details but let me accord cardinal importance to discipline as the hallmark or the soul of the Force’ existence. It is the cord of cohesion that binds all aspect of the Force together for better performance”.
“If you are a disciplined policeman, that virtue in you will dictate your speech, your conduct, your punctuality and dedication to work as well as general performance. The goodnews is that the Inspector-General of Police has taken the welfare of the Police Officers as one of the most important issue that has engaged the attention of his management”.
“The payment of salary arrears that are due to the officers elevated to new ranks is being addressed, he promised to pay immediately fund is made available”.
She further reminded the officers that they had a duty to perform in the forthcoming general elections as according to her,” much is being expected of the Nigeria Police in terms of providing security for the law abiding citizens, electoral materials and officials”.
The Police Chief charged the officers to be at their utmost defense of the integrity of the electoral process without compromising the election.
“You should know that the success and peaceful conduct of the election is a task we must endeavour to achieve depending on how you discharge your duty, election exercise can earn you accolades, appreciation from the public for a job well done for the citizens”, she stated.
While reminding the officers of the strategic position Western Ports Police Command and the Lagos State Police Command occupy in the nation’s history, she however called on the officers to work hard to stem the tide of crime engendered by robbers, kidnappers, militants, pirates, smugglers and other criminalities in Lagos and in the nation’s territorial waters.
Earlier in her speech, the Commissioner of Police, Western Ports Police Command, CP Hilda Ibifuro Harrison lamented the lack of adequate manpower that had bedeviled the command over the years adding that work in the command would be made easier with the deployment of more personnel.
She said,” challenges of inadequate logistics, it remains with us forever but we must also make do with what we have and we must have a culture of maintenance that the very little we have, if we maintain it, we can sustain it and use it for the performance of our duty”.
“Accommodation for police officers today, even for the very senior officers, it is no longer news that it is inadequate and a lot of the men you see here today, they live in barracks, very many of them live outside the barracks, even we have a peculiar case here at the Western Ports because we have been informed that our barrack has been concessioned, they came to my office to inform me and I have been making efforts to see how the men can be relocated with the Nigerian Ports Authority Management”.
She however assured the AIG that in spite of the challenges the officers face at the command, that her officers were willing and able to perform their duties creditably well.
