Jeff Amechi Agbodo, Onitsha
An Igbo group, Ndigbo Unity Forum (NUF), has lauded the withdrawal of policemen attached to the Very Important Persons (VIPs) and others by the Inspector General of Police (IGP).
The group said that the withdrawal of the policemen would bring sanity to the force and reduce pressure from the small number of the men that exists in the country.
The President of NUF, Mr. Augustine Chukwudum, while speaking to newsmen on IGP Idris’ directive, said that those policemen attached to VIPs always wield more powers to commits all sorts of illegality in trying to please their boss and some time clash with their colleagues in the field.
He said, “Ndigbo Unity Forum received with excitement the news of withdrawal of policemen attached to VIP and others by Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris.
“The directive to withdraw about eighty percent of policemen in the country deployed to protect less than two percent of the populace while the remaining ninety seven percent are left exposed is a welcome development.
“We believed that the directive from the Inspector general of police is long overdue because we have always and continuously frown at the ugly trend of deploying more than 200,000 policemen from the existing371,800 to secure less than 50,000 citizens in a country of more than 160 million people.
“We commend the move and call on the president of the federal republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari to approve the memo that will be sent by the Inspector general of police as soon as possible” Chukwudum stated.
IGP Ibrahim Idris had, on Monday, this week, gave the directive in Abuja during meeting with Commissioners of police and other senior officers of the police where he announced of a Task Force headed by ACP Mohammed Dankwara to ensure strict compliance with the directive.