Police Job Not Slavery, Officers Free To Take Alcohol- Lagos Command Spokesman Ben Hundeyin

The spokesman of the Lagos State Police Command, Benjamin Hundeyin, has said that policemen are not slaves who are not allowed to enjoy the good things of life, including taking alcoholic drinks.

The police spokesman spoke in an interview with Saturday PUNCH following killings by policemen in the state.

Hundeyin, who was grilled by Saturday PUNCH on taking of alcohol, said there was no law precluding policemen from enjoying their lives like other Nigerians once it was within the ambit of the law and Police Act.

On rules guiding the conduct of policemen taking alcohol on duty, he said: “Oga, you are a journalist.

“Go to Google and download the Police Act.

“Download it and you will see what it says about disciplinary matters and the things that constitute disciplinary matters.

“But to answer your question, maybe alcohol or drinking may not be exactly stated, but whatever is unprofessional is punishable.”

On if there is no specific punishment for a policeman caught drinking alcohol while on duty in the police uniform, Hundeyin responded: “You don’t unilaterally give punishment.

“This is not military tribunal.

“Even within the police, you’ll still be made to go through what is called orderly room trial.

“You will still go through trial.

“There will be an adjudicating officer.

“Your offence will be read to you and you’ll be asked to defend yourself and tell us why you should not be punished and all of that.

“So, all of that will be done.

“Even in the court of law, your defence, your argument could either mitigate your punishment or when they see that you are not remorseful, it could actually increase your punishment and all that.

“So, I can’t give you any fixed thing but it’s a punishable offence and it (the punishment) could range from suspension to dismissal, to deduction in ranks.

“It all depends on the outcome of the trial.”

Asked if it was even good enough for a policeman to drink alcohol in order to maintain sanity round the clock, Hundeyin said: “Oga!

“When I’m off duty, I am inside my house with my family, I can take as much alcohol as I want.

“It has not impaired my police duties.

“I am off duty and I am not at that point doing any police duty.

“I can take as much alcohol as I want.

“As long as I don’t go and fall inside a gutter on the street such that people will identify me, saying: ‘That’s a policeman in the gutter.’

“Even the policemen that were caught taking alcohol, they were not behaving erratically, they were not misbehaving.

“Yes, there was a tendency that they could misbehave because they were drunk, but at the point when your colleague, Dayo Oyewo, took their pictures, they were not misbehaving.

“They were just drinking and they were drunk and that’s what makes it unprofessional.

“They were in uniforms.

“But if they took same amount of alcohol while they are off duty, while in mufti, it has not constituted an offence.

“They have not committed an offence.

“They have not misbehaved.

“They have not assaulted anybody.

“They have not extorted (money from) anybody.

“They are just drinking.

“Anybody can drink.

“Police work is not slavery.

“Anybody can drink….

“Go and talk to policemen and find out for yourself.

“Dayo, your colleague, was able to take pictures without the policemen knowing.

“Fine.

“(You should) also try to monitor some police officers.

“See when they resume and see when they leave and you will be able to tell if they worked 12 hours or they worked 24 hours, but I’m not answering the question of routine and all that.

“Like every other civil servant, we go on casual leave, we go on annual leave, we go on medical leave, we go on sick leave, we go on study leave.

“We are entitled to all the leaves too, so, I don’t know exactly what you’re driving at.

“I will say that you should download the Police Act.

“We don’t use the word drunkenness, but whatever is an unprofessional behaviour is punishable and it will be punished and like you asked me, what the specific punishment will be and I told you that it depends on the specific outcome of the orderly room trial, which will range from suspension to deduction in rank, to dismissal.