Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC), Mr. Musiliu Smith, yesterday urged the Acting Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Usman Baba, to rid the police of bad eggs.
Smith, while receiving the IG in his office in Abuja, also decried the proliferation of investigative units in the force.
The commission, in a statement yesterday by its spokesman, Mr. Ikechukwu Ani, canvassed a harmonious working relationship between it and the police in the interest of the nation.
The statement said Baba, who paid his first official visit to the PSC, pledged loyalty to the regulatory body and expressed the determination of the police to work with the commission.
Smith urged the acting IG to look into the proliferation of investigative units in the police to save “the police force of the huge embarrassments these units bring to the force.”
He said there must be proper and close monitoring of police investigative units to stem the atrocities their officials commit in the line of duty, stressing the need to treat cases of misconduct by the personnel so that those found wanting are brought to book.
“It is this set of officers that have continued to damage the image of the force and you should quickly get these bad eggs out of the force. You should also ensure sanity among the ranks and file and even the officers,” he said.
Smith said the two agencies needed each other and must work together to solve the nation’s security challenges.
Smith, who prayed for a successful tenure of office for the IG assured him of the commission’s guidance and support but noted that he should listen and carry his management team along in the discharge of his duties.
“You should encourage and benefit from teamwork with your management team. Let them be free to advise you, listen to them” he told the acting IG, adding that members of the management team should not be afraid to advise him but should also not mislead him.
“Be truthful to the IG, give him his due respect and the Nigeria Police will make a lot of progress”, he said.
Smith said recruitment into the police would soon begin after details relating to the exercise were properly straightened out and all issues resolved in the interest of both the commission and the police.
He added that training should also be one of the priority programmes of the acting IG, including building strong intelligence base so as to detect and control crime.
He called for the revival of the Police Detective College in Enugu so that it would provide the platform for training in intelligence gathering.
The PSC boss also spoke on the need for Divisional Police Officers to return to their responsibilities of doing visiting rounds” and also emphasised the need for revival of workshops and communication in police commands.
Earlier, Baba had said he came to formally inform the PSC that a new ‘sheriff’ was in town and to pledge the loyalty and cooperation of the police to the PSC.
“He implored the commission to go beyond recruitment and promotion and assert its authority to make the Nigeria Police Force better. He noted that the commission should go ahead to produce the police force the nation needs using the reward and punishment procedure, adding that the area of discipline has been neglected in the force,” the statement quoted the acting IG as saying.
Baba said the force would be happy to work with products of the commission’s recruitment, adding that the 35 police training schools in the country should be made to be busy with all-year programmes.
He promised to work with the commission to give the nation an ideal and vibrant police force.