•Says current permits for tinted glasses valid
Chiemelie Ezeobi in Lagos and Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja
The Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Alkali Usman, yesterday charged officers and men of the Lagos State Police Command never again allow hoodlums and miscreants to overrun their area commands and divisions.
He also clarified that all permits issued by the police for vehicle-tinted glasses would remain valid.
He, however, ordered Commissioners of Police (CPs) in the 36 states of the federation and their supervisory Assistant Inspectors-General of Police (AIGs) to retrieve all unauthorised vehicle number plates in their states and areas of jurisdiction.
Usman, at a meeting in Lagos with police officers during his maiden visit to the state, said: “Never again do we allow our stations and our personnel to be overrun to the extent that we would not be able to handle situations that can easily be handled because of lack of operationalism or cowardice.
“We must do in-house training, we must remind ourselves of the laws, the powers in the laws that we have, and how we can discharge them.
“As strategic managers and officers of this business, all of us in this room are the managers and we need to enforce self discipline.
“The service can no longer tolerate acts of indiscipline which is all known to us, we must do the needful to be able to carry on with our job.”
Usman spoke against the backdrop of attacks on police facilities during last October’s #ENDSARS protests, hijacked by hoodlums who unleashed an organisation of violence on the state.
On extrajudicial killings occasioned by riots, the IG urged personnel to go back to the accepted norms of discharging their responsibilities.
He said: “You must also control the use of firearms. You need to lecture your men and remind them that once you’re assigning the rifle, there are kinds of posts of which you would use.
“You must also guard against it being either snatched or by carelessly handling it. We must also be civil in the discharge of our responsibilities at all times.”
He further charged personnel to be professionals in preventing and controlling crime, as well as the maintenance of law and order.
“It is good to remind ourselves of the enormous task of policing under a democratic dispensation. It is a known fact that we have not gotten all that we need in the discharge of our duties and responsibilities in terms of personnel equipment and welfare.
“Be that as it is may, with the limited resources that we have and personnel, we are going to do our job with more dedication and professionalism,” he stated.
Earlier, the Lagos State Police Commissioner, Hakeem Odumosu, had tasked the IG to provide the command with 13 water cannons to quell riots or uprisings.
He said: “The command sincerely appreciate the recent release of two water cannons to the command. We promise to make judicious use of them and other arsenal provided by the IG in combating crimes and criminality.
‘However, like Oliver Twist, I wish to still appeal to the IGP to bless the command with an additional 13 water cannons, each for the 13 area commands on the land
“At least five gunboats will be required for the 14th area command at Area “L” Ilase,’ which is situated along riverine areas, to police and secure our waterways that have been experiencing heavy traffic presently due to the ongoing road constructions across the state.
“In addition, the command will appreciate the release of two police helicopters to assist in fortifying the aerial patrol/surveillance of the command with a view to tactically tackling some of the crimes being experienced in the state and by extension, in the South-west.”
IG: Existing Permits for Tinted Glasses Still Valid
Meanwhile, the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Alkali Usman, yesterday clarified that all permits issued by the police for vehicle tinted glasses would remain valid.
He, however, ordered the Commissioners of Police (CPs) in the 36 states of the federation and their supervisory Assistant Inspectors-General of Police (AIGs) to retrieve all unauthorised vehicle number plates in their states and areas of jurisdiction.
Baba, on Monday, had ordered the suspension of issuance of permits for tinted glasses.
A statement issued by Force Public Relations Officer, Mr. Frank Mba, a Commissioner for Police, said the existing spy number plates being used by authorised users for purposes and vehicles specified by law remained valid, while the issuance of new spy number plates remained suspended pending the release of a new protocol to guide its allocation and usage in the country.
“This clarification is coming on the heels of public inquiries following the announcement of the suspension of issuance of new tinted permits by the IGP during the meeting with senior police officers at the Force Headquarters, Abuja on Monday, 7th June 2021.
“The suspension, which is a temporary measure, will remain in force pending the release of a new protocol that would regulate the issuance of tinted permits for vehicle owners and operators in the country,” the statement said.
The IG added that the move was part of efforts to streamline the process of issuance and usage of permits for tinted glasses in line with the provisions of the Motor Vehicles (Prohibition of Tinted Glass) Act, which is explicit on conditions for the use of vehicles with tinted glasses in Nigeria.
