By; RAYMOND TEDUNJAYE, Lagos
Defiant travelers violating the Federal Government restriction on Inter-State movement would face stiff resistance henceforth following the Inspector General of Police directive of strict enforcement of the order.
The Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, who gave the directive on Tuesday, ordered the Zonal Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIGs) and Commissioners of Police in the 36 States and the FCT Abuja to ensure strict enforcement of national curfew and Inter-State movement restriction order put in place by the Federal Government as part of measures to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country.
The Force Public Relations Officer DCP Frank Mba in a statement said the IGP gave the directive during a virtual conference held on Tuesday, 19th May, 2020.
Mba said the conference availed the Force leadership the opportunity to engage the strategic managers, assess the security situation in the country, review operational strategies and take decisive measures aimed at evolving customized security solutions to cope with crime trends and other security challenges relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The release reads in part, ” The Inspector-General of Police, IGP M.A Adamu, NPM, mni has ordered strict enforcement of the national curfew and inter-state movement restriction orders emplaced by the Federal Government as part of measures to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
The IGP gave this directive to the Zonal Assistant-Inspectors General of Police and State Commissioners of Police during a virtual conference held on Tuesday, 19th May, 2020.
The conference availed the Force leadership the opportunity to engage the strategic managers, assess the security situation in the country, review operational strategies and take decisive measures aimed at evolving customized security solutions to cope with crime trends and other security challenges relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Accorfing to Mba, the IGP while evaluating security reports from various States Commands, charged the Commissioners of Police particularly in States with recent incidents of attacks on communities, to rejig their security architecture to forestall further attacks and keep the communities safe and secure for the citizenry.
The IGP also expressed concerns over reports bordering on human rights infractions between the public and personnel of the Force.
He therefore called for mutual respect between the public and members of the Force and charged the Strategic Managers to place more premium on the supervision of police personnel under their watch.
The Force Image maker noted that the virtual conference is the first by the Nigeria Police Force since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
