Police Deny Report Of Officer Jailed In Benin Republic

Reacting to the report, Force PRO, Jimoh Moshood, said from the record of the Force, no police officer has been arrested in Benin Republic for crossing the border with service pistol. He further noted, “the story was studied and was discovered in its entirety to be incorrect, mischievous, and unfounded. In the record of the Force, there is no Nigerian Police Officer in jail in Benin Republic as claimed by the writer. The Force wishes to enjoin members of the public to disregard and discountenance the story as figment of the imagination of the writer. “The Nigeria Police Force border patrol department and other security agencies within Nigeria and our counterpart in Benin Republic have had good synergy and cordial working relationship to ensure adequate security and safety between the two countries for several decades now. Therefore, there would definitely be information given to the Force about any officer of the Force arrested on the soil of another country for whatever reason before such an officer is put on trial. “It is pertinent to state here that there was no record made available to the Force by the Benin Republic Police gendarmerie about the arrest, prosecution and conviction of a chief superintendent of police in the last two years as claimed by the writer or at any other time. There was equally no record at the Seme Police Border Patrol unit that a chief superintendent of police was arrested for crossing the border with his service pistol. One wonders how the reporter got the story of a Nigerian Chief Superintendent of Police jailed in Benin republic without the name and other relevant details of the purported officer. “Consequently, it is evidently clear that the story is based on hearsay, an unverified and unconfirmed account. The media and police are partners in ensuring security of lives and properties throughout Nigeria and the strengthening of sustainable and mutual diplomatic relationship between Nigeria and our close neighbours, this should not be jeopardised by writing a story based on unverified sources, the need for reporters to authenticate their write-ups before going to the press cannot be over emphasised.”]]>