Kwara Police Boss Warns Mopol Against Misconduct, Illegality

BY VICTOR BUORO, ABUJA – The Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Lawan Ado has warned officers and men of the F-SARS (SPECIAL ANTI-ROBBERY SQUAD) at the Police Headquarters to desist from misconduct attributed to the outfit in recent times.

CP Ado, who gave the warning at a meeting with Commanders of Units in Ilorin, specifically told the officers and men that enough was enough, stressing that they either sit up or get booted out of the Force. 

He said the misconducts of certain policemen have brought some level of disrepute to the image of the command, adding that allegations of extortion, checking of telephone sets of citizens, laptops and labelling every young man seen in a car as being a Yahoo boy should stop forthwith.

The Police boss pointedly said that their being members of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad does not in any way differentiate them from other policemen and as such must at all times abide by their rules of engagement, dress code and must be neatly turned out saying they are not immune against sanctions.

CP Ado also warned that drunkenness, especially on duty would be viewed seriously as an offence against discipline, stressing that he would not hesitate to wield the big stick on any officer whose actions or inaction would drag the jealously guarded name of the Police in the mud.

The Kwara Police boss re-echoed the directive of the Inspector General of Police to the effect that the ban on road blocks on the high ways remains in force and warned that any police officer arrested for disobedience to the directive will be severely dealt with. 

While assuring the men of the support and protection of the Police authority at all times, he promised that the Command would do everything within its powers to make their work easy and therefore admonished the officers to be civil in all their dealings with the members of the public.

He further said; “A male police searching a female suspect is a misnomer. Searching of telephone set belonging to accosted citizens by SARS operatives, escorting suspects to the ATM machine to collect money, or forcing suspect to make electronic money transfer is robbery. Any officer arrested doing any of the above will be dismissed and charged to court.”