Report From Police Complaint Response Unit Showing Decline in Cases of Professional Misconduct Against the Nigeria Police
- As Ag. IGP Ibrahim K. Idris Directs Police Commands Nationwide To Ensure Appropriate And Timely Actions On Matters From CRU
The second quarter report released by the Complaint Response Unit (CRU), of the Nigeria Police Force released on July 18th, 2016 in Abuja, shows a steady decline in number of cases of professional misconduct reported against officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force.
According to the 2016 Second Quarter report covering April, May and June, 2016 a total number of 906 complaints were received from across the federation which is less than the 1,054 complains received in the first quota of 2016 (January, February and March).
The Assistant Commissioner of Police – CRU, Ag. ACP Abayomi Shogunle in the report attributed the decline in the number of complaints against the Police to increasing compliance by Nigeria Police Officers to professional best practices in the conduct of their duties.
In the report, Lagos, FCT-Abuja, Rivers and Anambra State Police Commands account for over 50% of total complaints received (54.02%) while Jigawa, Yobe and Kebbi States Police Commands are at the bottom of State Ranking with no case reported against the Police during the period under review just as Kebbi State Police Command continue to keep a clean sheet with no case reported since the inception of the CRU in November, 2015.
Similarly, there was a steady decline in number of cases reported from 19 State Commands namely: Abia, Adamawa, Bayelsa, Delta, Enugu, Imo, Kaduna, Katsina, Kwara, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Taraba, Ebonyi, Kogi, Nasarawa and Edo as well as FCT-Abuja Command compared to the number reported in the first quarter report.
The report further revealed that out of the cases received, 799 were successfully resolved/closed, 35 cases were found to be false/unrelated while 72 cases are still pending as investigation were still ongoing while telephone tops the most in reporting platforms with 537 calls.
While reiterating the determination of the unit to live up to it expectations, the report revealed that the Inspector-General of Police, Ag. IGP Ibrahim Idris NPM, mni, via a circular directed all Police Commands/Formations nationwide to ensure appropriate and timely actions are taking regarding all matters and issues brought to their notice by the CRU.
On measures taking to ensure that Police operate within the acceptable standard, the report stated that the Unit embarked on special monitoring of activities of Safer Highway Patrol teams as well as visitation of selected Police stations in the South-West, South-South, South-East and North-Central regions of the country. CRU Townhall meetings with citizens were also held in Enugu, Awka and Abakaliki in collaboration with stakeholders.
Equally, there was a sustained enlightenment regarding CRU activities across both electronic and print media during the period under review so as to raise awareness among Nigerians on the workings of the Unit with emphasis on the “BAIL IS FREE” – #BailisFree campaign. The CRU also facilitated a research visitation by Amnesty International Nigeria to Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) detention facilities in Anambra, FCT-Abuja and Enugu Police Commands in the month of June 2016 so as to enable the organization get a fuller understanding of the workings of SARS, the report added.
It would be recalled that the Nigeria Police Force established the CRU to enable the Public who may not be satisfy with Police services reach the higher authority for resolution of their complaints and Justice. CRU is the first of its kind in Sub-Sahara Africa and the motto of the Unit is “No to Impunity”. A copy of the full report is available for download at www.npf.gov.ng or www.npf.gov.ng/complaint.
The various platforms to reach the CRU include: Calls Only: 0805 700 0001, 0805 700 0002 | SMS and WhatsApp Only: 0805 700 0003 | BBM: 58A2B5DE Twitter: @PoliceNG_CRU Facebook: www.facebook.com/npfcomplaint | Email: [email protected] OR [email protected] Website: www.npf.gov.ng/complaint.
