I’m Being Detained For Attempting To Resign, Lagos Cop Alleges

*She Did Not Follow Due Process — Police 

A FEMALE officer, Fauzziyah Isiak, has been arrested and detained by the police authorities after she made attempts to resign from the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).

She is currently facing orderly room trial for being absent from duty and flouting the social media policy of the NPF.

Isiak, who took to Twitter to recount her travails on Thursday, May 25, lamented that she was detained without any form of interrogation when she arrived at the office on Wednesday, May 24.

According to her, she was called into the office and detained, despite disclosing that she was menstruating at the time.

“I never saw this coming. I have never thought I’ll be put in detention without interrogation. All I did was try to resign,” she said.

She explained that she has been attempting to resign from the Police Force since 2022, but her resignation letters were not approved.

Isiak explained that she was hopeful that he resignation would finally be accepted when she was summoned by her immediate boss to meet with the Deputy Commissioner for an interview on May 24.

However, according to her, she was informed that she would be detained and subsequently dismissed.

Isiak, who said she is also an entrepreneur and beekeeper, added, “Later, I heard that I should have begged and cried, but my lack of reaction worsened the matter.”

Bemoaning her plight, she said she had not changed her clothes or sanitary pad since her detention about 24 hours ago.

She further claimed she is suffering from severe exhaustion and migraines in her detention cell, which she said is filled with mosquitoes.

Isiak also said her mother has been advised to come and plead with the police authorities on her behalf.

“I have not taken my clothes and shoes off since yesterday. I can’t even change my sanitary pad. My migraine is throbbing at full speed and my head is about to explode from exhaustion,” she said.

“My mother has called that she has been advised to come and plead that I will continue working. I have been working for 6 years and I think it is fair to let someone go and aid them to leave if they do not want to stay anymore.

“I have been very easygoing since I was born, this is my first time in this kind of situation. I have always worked in the administrative department, in fact, the religious department of the Nigeria Police. I believe in pursuing everything with passion, I always remove myself whenever I think I am no longer giving full attention to a job or career.

“I don’t know how long I’ll be here for but I really need to sleep. If the women at the Provost’s office had not given me some Paracetamol yesterday afternoon, I may not have survived until now. I don’t know how long I will be here for but I’ll appreciate a blanket with a sanitary pad.

“The cold is about to snuff my life out. As I sit here through the night and the mosquitos hum in my ears. I keep talking to them to ask them why someone who could have stamped my letter and put me through on what to do will have me held down and humiliated instead.”

She did not follow due process -– Police
Following Isiak’s claims, the Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi explained that the female officer did not follow the due process in her bid to resign from the Nigeria Police Force.

Adejobi, spokesperson of the NPF, accused Isiak of misinforming the public and making light of the situation.

“She is just being funny and misled, I guess. I am sure many have got the facts from the Command,” he said in a statement posted on Twitter on Thursday, May 25.

Adejobi outlined the resignation process, explaining that it involves submitting a resignation letter through the appropriate channels and receiving approval before being allowed to leave.

He noted that if urgent departure is required, payment equivalent to three months’ salary must be made to the government.

The police spokesperson concluded by stating that since Isiak had not received approval, she was obligated to remain on duty.

“The process is clear. You write a resignation letter through your, DPO, to Area Commander, follow the ladder up to the IGP, and response comes via the same route. And if it’s so urgent that you must leave, you make payment equal to ur salary for 3 months, to be paid to the purse of the government, with proof of payment.

“That is express. But if you have not received any approval, you must be on duty. So, she has not been reporting on duty.”

Also, spokesperson of the Lagos State Police Command, Benjamin Hundeyin, in a statement posted on Twitter on Thursday, revealed that Isiak was absent from duty without leave or permission, prompting the subsequent actions taken by the police.

In the statement titled ‘Setting the records straight’, Hundeyin explained that Isiak’s absence without permission constituted desertion, a serious offence.

He further accused Isiak of maliciously tarnishing the image of the Force.

According to him, working in the Police Force differs from being employed in the private sector, where resignations are processed swiftly.

Hundeyin also disclosed that Isiak would face orderly room trial, for desertion, on Thursday.

Parts of the Lagos police spokesperson’s statement read: “It is one thing to turn in your resignation. It is another thing for the application to be processed, upon which you receive your discharge certificate.

“Till you get the discharge certificate, you remain a serving member of the Force, bound by all extant rules and regulations of service.

“Absence from duty for twenty-one days without leave or permission automatically results in your being declared a deserter. Every serving member knows this.

“Corporal Fauzziyah Isiak, who serves in the office of the Imam of the Command, without leave, permission or discharge from service, absconded from duty for over a month, in flagrant disregard for the conditions of service she willingly signed to. For this offence against discipline, she was detained yesterday for the commencement of her orderly room trial today.”

He noted that Isiak would be given the opportunity to explain herself at the trial, after which a decision will be made.

Hundeyin added that Isiak had committed a similar ‘offence’ in the past.

Explaining how the female police officer resigned, he said, “Last year, at the start of the honey season, she absconded from work without permission. When reached on phone to ascertain her whereabouts, she sent in her resignation – not tenable.

“Same thing this year. She sent in a resignation letter after first going AWOL. Due process must be followed.”

He said Isiak is currently on trial for being absent from duty for 53 days and flouting the Nigeria Police Force Social Media Policy.