The Inspector General of Police, Adamu Mohammed, on Monday vowed that all the affected officers involved in recent cases of extra-judicial killings recorded in Lagos State would be charged to court and made to face the law.
Mohammed said this when he paid a courtesy visit to Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State, at Lagos House in Alausa, Ikeja.
He said it was on record that police officers in the state had been performing creditably, but that the activities of few unscrupulous ones were denting the good work of others.
“I came to pay a courtesy visit to the Governor because I am in Lagos State to see the officers and men of the Nigerian Police.
“I came to talk to them on good behaviour and to remind them of ethics of the job. We are to serve members of the public; we are not their masters, we are their servants.
“The officers and men in Lagos State have been doing a lot of good job in fighting crime and they have been succeeding, but the acts of few officers out of many in Lagos State are denting the good works that others have done,” he said.
Mohammed said that the situation was unbecoming and he had to come down to talk to officers to remind them of their duties.
“Recently, we have had some overzealous officers who went out of their way in the course of performing their duties; they shot a lady and she died, and we felt that is not acceptable.
“Anybody that goes out of his way to commit extra-judicial killing, such a person is on his own and he has to face the wrath of the law.
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“In this particular case, the officers that were involved have been arrested; they have been tried in our internal way of dealing with such issue, and at the same time, they will be charged to court,” Mohammed said.
He commended Ambode for the massive support to the police and other security agencies in the state.
According to him, the successes recorded in keeping the state safe would not have been possible if not for the governor’s support.
Responding, Ambode commended the IG for taking it upon himself to promptly address the extra-judicial killings in the state personally.
He said it showed responsiveness and seriousness with which the issue was being handled by the IG.
“I want to commend the IG for this visit. Beyond the fact that this is a courtesy visit, like he has said he is coming promptly to address the issue of extra-judicial killings that have actually taken place in the last few weeks.”
Ambode said with 33,000 officers policing a population of about 24 million in Lagos, the police was already overstretched.
He, however, assured that the State Government would continue to support the Police and other security agencies to ensure that they carry out their duties lawfully.