Again, IG Embarks on Usual Rhetoric

The Inspector-General of Police (IG), Mr. Kayode Egbetokun last week ordered the immediate withdrawal of Police Mobile Force (PMF) personnel from private individuals across the country.

Describing the PMF as “the elite tactical arm of the police”, the IG said the unit must be repositioned to focus on its core mandate of responding swiftly to riots, emergencies, and violent threats. He decried the assignment of PMF operatives to escort and guard duties for VIPs and private individuals, calling it a “distortion that weakens operational effectiveness”.

The IG noted that the reforms are part of a broader effort to restore discipline, uphold human rights, and raise operational standards in line with global best practices.

This directive by the IG is not new. In fact, previous IGs had on many occasions ordered the withdrawal of the MPF personnel attached to several VIPs.

Sometimes, it can be ban or disbandment of roadblocks on major roads.

But the more these orders or directives are given, the more Nigerians see a detachment of policemen with these VIPs and more roadblocks mounted on the roads.

What usually happens is that each time the directive to withdraw MPF is given, the policemen are not always withdrawn as directed. It’s always an opportunity for the VIPs to renegotiate the terms.

Meanwhile, these are the policemen seriously needed to address the insecurity in the country that are usually assigned to VIPs who can afford them.

Last February, following complaints by Nigerians that heavily armed police personnel in mufti used to harass innocent people in gestapo-style, Egbetokun directed police officers not to bear assault rifles when dressed in mufti.

He also banned them from using commercial buses and other unmarked vehicles that hide their identities.

The use of mufti and commercial buses and other unmarked vehicles make it impossible for Nigerians to differentiate them from criminals.

But despite the ban and warning, personnel of the force have refused to comply with it.

All over major cities, police operatives are seen in muftis and unmarked vehicles and commercial buses harassing Nigerians.

This is why many Nigerians believe that IG Egbetokun’s latest directive is another empty rhetoric.