“Old things have passed away”, these were the words of the Inspector General of Police, Dr Kayode Egbetokun in Kano on Friday as he addressed officers and men of the command.
He said henceforth only officers that will inspire public confidence in the force will be promoted..
Speaking at a special reception in his honour, Egbetokun declared: “Henceforth, promotions in the police will be merit based. There will be no special promotions and if you want special promotion you must merit it.
“For now dishing out promotions anyhow has been stopped.”
The IGP urged officers and men to shun extortion and avoid tarnishing the image of Nigerian Police.
He said God loves the Police but the wicked nature of some officers would have sent away angels that God is sending to bless them with their wickedness.
“The moment you are engaging in corruption you are telling God that don’t worry about me I can bless myself, and God will not bother about you.
“But if you address your job with the fear of God, God will single you out for blessing. If you want your personal blessing then you must not do it for yourself.
“So, if you want your personal blessing which you wish for yourself or the one from God, I will rather choose the blessing that will come from God.”
Egbetokun disclosed that he would be reshuffling the Central Investigation Department (CID), stressing that only competent officers will function in the force CID.
He said:”The force CID is going to be reorganized such that only qualified and competent officers will function in the force CID. This will be replicated in the state commands.
“Henceforth only officers who can inspire public confidence will be given sensitive duty post, such as Commissioners of Police, Area Commanders and DPOs. If you cannot inspire public confidence you will not merit such positions.
“We want competence, we want honesty, we want integrity. That is the only way we can inspire public confidence. We want support of members of the public.
“We cannot be calling for support when we also are not showing transparency, we’re not showing competence and we are not showing capability. It is when we are able to do all these that we will mobilize for public support.
“Modern policing is community-based, it is intelligence-led, and it is technology-driven. We must show commitment. We must show capacity.
“We must show integrity. We must show to the members of the public that we can be trusted. We are the lead agency in internal security. We have to demonstrate this.”
On the need for professionalism, the IGP said: “We must show commitment to professionalism. We must improve our relationship with members of the public. We must stop corruption and extortion in our system. It doesn’t pay us.”
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