The Nigeria Police Force has warned its personnel against unprofessional conduct, saying they will bear the consequences of their action.
Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi said the police leadership does not do anything with impunity, adding that operatives will pay dearly for any offence committed.
“We don’t do anything with impunity,” the Force spokesman said during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
If you commit an offence as a policeman, you pay dearly for it. Nobody will tolerate that and the Police Act is very clear about it. The Constitution and Penal Laws are very clear about this.”
Adejobi’s warning comes on the heels of the murder of a Lagos-based lawyer, Mrs Bolanle Raheem, who was shot dead on Christmas Day in the Ajah area of the state. Her killing has sparked outrage from many Nigerians.
The situation has forced President Muhammadu Buhari, the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, and Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to condemn the incident and call for a thorough probe.
IGP’s Proposal
Following public outcry, the police authorities identified the trigger-happy cop as Drambi Vandi, an Assistant Superintendent of Police who has spent 33 years in service.
Vandi and his team were attached to Ajiwe Police Station in Ajah, a station known to be notorious to residents of the area. The police officers were said to have tried to stop Raheem and her family members as they drove back home from a church service on December 25.
The indicted officer – said to have spent 33 years in service – is due for promotion next year before his eventual retirement in 2024.
To ensure a speedy action into the case, the IGP on Wednesday recommended the suspension of the indicted cop.
During the interview, the Force spokesman confirmed that his principal had written to the Police Service Commission, proposing that Vandi steps aside while awaiting a report on the incident.
He said contrary to some rumours that the Force wants to sweep the matter under the carpet, the case will be followed to a logical conclusion to ensure that justice is served.
“The letter has been sent. If the IGP is saying this is what he wants for so reasons, the Commission, I’m sure, will not say no. This is not the first time we have been doing that,” Adejobi stated.
On the procedure the Force is taking regarding the case, Adejobi said the accused officer is an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), who cannot just be fired.
According to him, the Nigeria Police Force has identified Vandi as the policeman behind the unfortunate and has kept him in detention pending the outcome of an interim report to probe the murder case.
He added, “For this case now, Vandi is an ASP. The IGP cannot say go even in this case. If you want to prosecute anybody, it is either you dismiss or suspend the person before the case is charged to court.
“In his own case, the first step is that he has been identified, he has been detained, an investigation has been carried out, and an interim report has been forwarded to us in Abuja.
“And we have written to the Service Commission that this officer, ASP Vandi should be suspended so that every other legal procedure can go on unhindered.”
