No More SARS Jacket and Mufti for Police officers in Lagos - Police Commissioner of Lagos
According to a report by The Guardian, the Commissioner of Police,
Lagos State command, Edgal Imohimi, yesterday gave a stern warning to
policemen attached to divisions in the state to desist from wearing
mufti bearing ‘SARS’ (Special Anti-Robbery Squad) while carrying out
official duties. He threatened to sanction any policeman who violates
the directive.
To march his words with action, Edgal said the two policemen, who
allegedly assaulted a lawyer last week in Ikoyi area of Lagos, would be
demoted in ranks, for wearing plain clothes to effect the arrest of the
legal practitioner.
Egdal gave the warning at the third Stakeholders Security Meeting
on Community Policing organised by the Area ‘D’ Command, Mushin, with
the theme ‘Policing the community by the community’. He, however, said
only certain policemen would be allowed to wear jackets with the
inscriptions of their units on them.
According to him: “Henceforth, no policeman should carry out
operational duties in Lagos in mufti without police uniform. The only
units allowed to wear jackets with the inscription of his unit on it are
Anti-Cultism unit, Anti-Kidnapping unit, RAIDER and Federal Special
Anti Robbery Squad (FSARS). Every other policeman on operational duties
must be in uniform.
“They would only be in mufti only if they are attached to the
investigation unit of the command. We don’t want any policeman to cause
us any embarrassment anymore. An example was that of the lawyer that was
assaulted in Ikoyi recently by policemen who went there in T-shirts as
FSARS. They will be reduced in ranks to serve as deterrent to others”.
He, therefore, admonished Lagosians to report any policeman in uniform found drinking beer in a restaurant during work hours.
The police boss also took a swipe on parents who neglect their
children without giving them requisite training and guidance, while
decrying the rate of drug intake and youths involvement in cultism.
He said: “Cultism and drug intake have taken over our children. That is the greatest challenge that is confronting us in Lagos now.
“People said I am hard on cultists and drug peddlers. But I
have to be hard or else, they will take over our children and youths,
who are our future leaders. What are we bequeathing on our children? Are
we going to leave a community that is taken over by drug and cultism?
“Are we going to leave a community where our girls are
prostitutes? It pains my heart whenever I sit down and think on how our
young girls, boys and primary school pupils are now taking to drug abuse
and cultism. How did we get to this? It goes back to show that we have
all failed as parents.”
In response, some residents kicked against crushing of
motorcyclists popularly known as okada by the state government,
suggesting rather that sanctions such as fines should be stipulated for
offenders, so as to avoid the temptation of affected riders indulging in
acts of criminality.
Reacting to the statement, the police boss lamented the state of
lawlessness and total disregard to traffic laws, especially by
commercial motorcyclists whom he accused of always driving against
traffic.
He stated that the command would not tolerate land grabbers, no
matter how highly placed the individual is in the society.He gave an
instance of the arrest of a traditional ruler in Badagry area of the
state.
He said: “Yesterday, (Wednesday) a baale in Badagry began to
jubilate that he has won a case in court, a case that has not been
interpreted. He is not a court bailiff; he ought to have reached the
Commissioner of Police to follow it up legally. He brought mobile
policemen; only God knows where he got them from. They started shooting
and in the process, shot someone, who luckily did not die”.
A former Senator who represented Lagos West, Ganiyu Solomon, in his
remark, applauded the effort of the Edgal-led command, in the fight
against crime, even as he called on residents to always avail the police
with information that would sustain its effort.