27th March, 2012
Members of the public have been charged to stand for their right whenever they are arrested by men of the Nigeria Police.
The newly deployed Commissioner of Police to Edo state, Mr. Olayinka Babatunde Balogun who gave this charge yesterday during an interactive session with newsmen in Benin City, also charged officers and men of the state police command to be civil while dealing with members of the public, adding that the police is there to fight crime and to protect innocent members of the public.
“A man is not a criminal until investigation proves such. The reason why we are there is to fight criminals and assist the people, that is our job,” he said.
On the issue of fighting against crime, he said the police could resort to intensive raiding of some hot spots in the town if necessary.
He however allayed fears about unlawful arrest and detention as he said whoever is found innocent after thorough screening would be released immediately.
“The current state of security in Nigeria is of great concern to the government and to all Nigerians. The new leadership is prepared to take the bull by the horn to rid the society of crime and criminality,” he said.
According to him, the police plan to achieve success in the course of crime fighting through commitment to duty, dedication to duty, respect for the rule of law, fairness to all in the discharge of duties, honesty in the course of discharging duties and performance of duty without fear or favour.
On issue of personal security, Mr. Balogun cautioned against security guards trading by the gate, saying that it could result in loss of concentration by the guards, thereby giving room for criminals to gain easy access into the homes of those they were paid to guard.
“A man is his own chief security officer. We must be security conscious. We must try to know what is happening around us,” he said.
While calling for the cooperation of journalists, the new police boss, however, called for constructive criticism devoid of speculations.
—Jethro Ibileke/Benin City