Layi Olanrewaju, Ilorin
The Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, at the weekend charged new police constables to respect the Rule of Law and fundamental human rights of the people in the performance of their duty.
He gave the charge at the passing out parade of the constables recruited for training seven months ago.
About 6, 000 constables were trained in police colleges and training schools across the country.
Idris whose speech was read at the passing out parade of the 267 of the constables trained at the Police Training School, Ilorin, also charged them to be loyal to the nation and the force.
In his speech which was read by the Commissioner of Police, Kwara State, Bashir Makama, Ibrahim told the new policemen to show total loyalty to the force.
He asked them them to toe the line of honour and shun acts capable of tarnishing the image of the police “as there is no place for corrupt, indolent and disgruntled officers.
Idirs who noted that the training and subsequent passing out of the constables would improve the present strength of the force which is about 300, 000, added that it would also help now that the elections draw near.
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He said the police were equipped with sufficient knowledge, character and training in manner that they would meet the demands of contemporary policing
“The Nigeria Police Force in mindful of pattern and methodology of crime and criminality; to ensure that the trainees turned out with a high level of professionalism, the recruits’ training manuals were reviewed to meet the demands of contemporary policing; seasoned security experts while consultants were deployed to impact knowledge on the trainees.
“They were also taken on special lessons on community policing, maintenance of peace in conflict areas and the use of firearms, public order act amongst others. With this, I’m convinced that the Nigeria police have produced yet another set of quality police constables equipped with sufficient knowledge and character to join the force,” he stated.
Earlier in his speech, the commandant of the training school, Magaji Uthman, admonished the constables not to forget what they learnt about discipline during training saying “if you are discipline, then you have all it takes to be a responsible police officer.”