Inspector General of Police (IGP), Adamu Mohammed, says all officers of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) found culpable in all of the extra-judicial killings recorded in Lagos in recent times will face prosecution.
Mohammed was in Lagos on Monday and took time off to visit the State House, where he met with Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, and held discussions over spate of extra-judicial killings in the state by operatives of the Lagos Police Command.
The police chief, who was accompanied by top ranking officers, said the affected officers had been arrested and tried internally, but would also face criminal prosecution in the convention court of law, as extra-judicial killing runs contrary to the ethics of the police force.
He said available record showed that police officers in Lagos had performed creditably but the activities of few unscrupulous ones had dented the good work of others.
“We are to serve members of the public; we are not their masters, we are their servants. The officers and men in Lagos State have been doing a lot of good job in fighting crime and they have been succeeding, but the acts of few officers are denting the good works that others have done.
“Recently, we have had some overzealous officers who went out of their way in the course of performing their duties; they shot a lady and she died and we felt that that is not acceptable, it is unbecoming and I had to come down to talk to officers and men to remind them of their duties and to tell them that anybody that goes out of his way to commit extra-judicial killing, such a person is on his own and he has to face the wrath of the law and in this particular case.
The officers that were involved have been arrested; they have been tried in our internal way of dealing with such issue and at the same time, they would be charged to court,” he said.
He also commended Ambode’s continued support to the police and other security agencies in Lagos, saying the successes recorded in keeping the state safe would not had been possible without the support of the governor.
Ambode on his part commended the IGP for promptly addressing the extra-judicial killings in the state despite his responsibilities across the country, saying it showed responsiveness and seriousness with which the issue was being handled by the police chief.
“I want to commend the IGP for this visit. Beyond the fact that this is a courtesy visit and like he has said, he is coming promptly to address the issue of extra-judicial killings that have actually taken place in the last few weeks.”
