Police misconduct caused #EndSARS protest, says PSC chairman

The Chairman, Police Service Commission (PSC), Musiliu Smith on Tuesday attributed last year’s #EndSARS protest that broke out in several major cities across the country to the misconduct of officers of the Nigeria Police Force.

Smith, a former Inspector General of Police, said this in Abuja at a retreat with the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Muhammed Adamu and police management team.

He decried the level of misconduct in the police force saying his office is always filled with complaints from Nigerians.

He called on the IGP to work closely with the Commission on the recruitment of credible Nigerians into the Force.

Smith said: “We are always having a lot of complains from members of the public against police officers. I believe that #EndSARS resulted from serious misconduct of some of our personnel.

“I want to advise that we review the arrangements we are making for investigating such cases. It should be such that let’s ensure that investigations are thoroughly conducted and whoever is the police officer that has been indicted will be punished according to the law. If we are doing that, some of the public complaints will go down”.

The PSC boss added the number of cases against the police were alarming, adding that the force may not be able the pay for the damages which were awarded against it.

IGP Adamu noted the retreat was to bridge the communication gap and engender a better understanding and working between it and the police service commission.

The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubukar Malami, harped on the needs for a harmonious working relationship between all agencies of government for the betterment of the country.