Ringim Commends Police

Inspector General of Police Hafiz Ringim on Wednesday commended officers and men of the Force for their performance during the just concluded general elections.

Ringim gave the commendation at a post-election meeting with senior police officers from the rank of Commissioner of Police to Deputy Inspector General of Police at the Force Headquartres in Abuja.

“Never before has it occurred in the history of this country that the police performed so creditably well.

“It is on record, whether anybody accepts it or not, whether anybody acknowledges it or not, that we must appreciate ourselves, we must appreciate our efforts.

“It is on record that no single policeman was arrested, investigated and charged to court for election-related offences during the 2011 elections,” he said.

Ringim said before the elections, many people had doubted the pledge given by the police to operate impartially under the country’s constitution.

He said those who doubted the neutrality of the Force accused it of being an agent of the ruling party.

“We said the police were going to discharge their function under the Nigerian constitution but doubting Thomases said no.

They said the police were partial; that Mr President appointed Ringim to rig election for him. We proved everybody wrong and proved ourselves right,” he said.

Ringim, who said he received over 1,000 text messages congratulating him and the police for exceptional performance during the elections, commended other security agencies and the media for their support.

The police boss also attributed the low crime rate experienced during the elections to the massive deployment of security personnel across the country.

He, however, identified Borno, Bauchi, Kaduna, Niger and Plateau as “ a major problem“ where the police would concentrate efforts to eradicate the menace of the “Boko Haram“ sect.

Ringim also said a notorious criminal, who had been on the wanted list of the police, had been arrested.

The AIG in charge of Zone 6, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, who paraded the 32-year-old suspect and two members of his gang, said they were arrested on April 25 at a guest house in Port Harcourt after a robbery operation in Akwa Ibom.