Daily Independent Online.
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Thursday, July 01, 2004.
Police
launch public complaints bureau
By Ben Duru
Special
Correspondent,
Owerri
The Assistant Inspector General of Police
(AIG) in charge of zone 9, Mr. Abdulraheem Yusuf, has reiterated the need for a
forum where the police and the public will meet to discuss wrongs against each
other.
He said the police are saddled with the responsibility of
ensuring peace through the maintenance of law and order, explaining that this
makes it imperative that the operatives should be law abiding, humane,
respectful and approachable in the course of their duties.
The AIG spoke at the Imo State headquarters of the police at
the inauguration and launch of the command’s Police Public Complaint
Bureau (PPCB) sponsored by the Centre for Law Enforcement Education (CLEEN).
According to him “policemen are trained to be civil and
restrained in keeping with the laws of the land when dealing with members of
the public. A synopsis of police
training manual presents the professional standard expected of the officers and
men.”
Yusuf added that any deviation from the police code of
conduct amounts to misconduct and attracts stern punishment so as to weed away
bad elements, while policemen who perform creditably deserve some reward.
The AIG said the PPCB should not only be used for complaints
but also for commendation as well as about criminal activities of miscreants.
“The PPCB has been in existence in all state commands
since 1993. Exigencies of duty inherent in police job had militated against the
proper functioning of the PPCB,” he explained.
The chairman, Board of Trustees of CLEEN, Ambassador Lamidi
Maliki, said the occasion was a fulfillment of a promise made at the stakeholders’
roundtable workshop last month in Owerri.
