Arrest of Peace Corps Commandant: Army, Police, DSS cannot be wrong- IGP Idris

Following the controversy surrounding, the arrest of the Commandant of the Peace Corp of Nigeria, Dr. Dickson Akor and 49 others by the Nigerian Police and his subsequent release on bail at the weekend to Mr. Femi Falana, his lawyer, the Police high command has stated that the arrest of Akor and members of the corps followed due process of the law.

Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris while answering questions from reporters at a two days Train the Trainers Seminar on Democratic Policing for the North East in Abuja, disclosed that there was no controversy about the arrest of a group flouting the laws of the country when the presidency has not accented to any bill authorizing their activities which the police described as illegal.

“Don’t forget that the arrests of the members of the Peace Corps of Nigeria, was a joint operation of the major security agencies in the country; the Nigeria Army, the Nigerian Police and the Department of state Service DSS. These three agencies cannot be wrong”, the IGP said.

Speaking on the train the trainers workshop organized by the British High Commission’s Conflict and Security office in partnership with the Nigerian Police, the IGP said democratic Policing entails responsibility, accountability and a Police force that responds timely as well as one which the citizenry responds to for effective community service.

Expressing happiness over the workshop and support of the British in preparing police officers for the task ahead, the IGP said, “We all know that in the North east, the military has driven the terrorists out of all the local government areas in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa. Police will in the coming weeks and months take over security duties of these places. That is why this training on how to deal with the unusual issues in conflict is timely”.

The IGP however noted that in the North East, all the major policing structures like the Area Commands, Divisional Police offices are currently being manned by police personnel adding, “We have as many police officers as is necessary in the North East”. Earlier, Ms Katrina Aitken Laird, Adviser, West Africa Conflict Security Team, stated that training the trainers programme is aimed at improving police service delivery to members of the public by ensuring that the immediate community which a police formation is located feels the positive impact of its service delivery.

“In ensuring that this is done, we will work with the police to ensure accountability, coordination and coherence runs all the way through the processes of the police. She said that after the training of trainers, in partnership with the Nigeria Police Force, the training will be delivered to a wider audience of teams in Borno State Police Command including all Divisional Police Officers and Divisional Crime Officers.