James Ojo, Abuja
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences (ICPC) and the police will collaborate very soon to carry out sting operation against corrupt policemen and officers.
The agreement was reached when the ICPC chairman, Professor Bolaji Owasanoye, visited the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, at the Force headquarters.
ICPC had made a success of such collaboration in sting operation with the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), leading to the arrest of 37 officials and three civilians caught extorting money from motorists in Kaduna, Bauchi, Abia, Rivers, Kogi and Ogun states.
According to the ICPC spokesperson, Mrs Rasheedat Okoduwa, Owasanoye, who was on a courtesy call to the IGP, had sought the collaboration of the police “as regards uprooting corruption from the organisation and the society in general.”
According to him, having carried out a successful campaign with the FRSC in a joint sting operation on the corps’ personnel involved in the extortion of money from motorists, there was need to replicate it on deviant policemen and would help correct some of the public perception of corruption in the police.
Such a sting operation, the anti graft agency boss noted, would show that the police in Nigeria does not condone the bad behaviours perpetrated by a few bad eggs among its staff.
Responding, the IGP noted that no agency had all the resources needed to carry out its assignments hence the police was ready to collaborate with ICPC because “you need us and we need you” in this fight against corruption.
Adamu said: “The police had been in the forefront of the fight against corruption with the creation of X-Squad and a unit where Nigerians could report corruption online. We are ready to support ICPC with the personnel, equipment and any other resource at our disposal for the commission to carry out its statutory assignments.
“For an anti corruption agency like the ICPC to carry out its duties effectively, it needs all the support it could get from other agencies and organisations.”
The ICPC boss solicited the support of the IGP and other relevant stakeholders like the Department of State Services (DSS) in the commission’s efforts to secure the approval of the government for some categories of its staff to bear arms due to the fact that its job was very dangerous.