IG blames public for unresolved murders

THE Inspector General of Police, M.D. Abubakar, has warned police investigators to stop torturing suspects to obtain information and partly blamed the public for unresolved murder cases, saying they are withholding important information from the police.
He said these on Wednesday, in Abuja, when he declared open a two-day conference for heads of Criminal Investigation Departments (CIDs) of police formations across the country.
Abubakar also noted that there were several high profile murder cases in the nation which were yet to be resolved, adding that the responsibility lay on the police.
He said: “People will see somebody committing robbery, somebody planting bombs and will not report to the security agencies. In Nigeria, people keep information to themselves. In spite of the fact that there are other security agencies of government, we (police) have the primary responsibility of internal security in this country. We have had several cases of high profile murder in this country that are still unresolved and the challenge is on us.”
According to him, it was crude and uncivilised for any police officer to torture suspects, as they still remained innocent until proven otherwise by a court of competent jurisdiction.
In his remarks, he stressed the need for the officers to acquire the requisite knowledge to be able to handle investigations, as a poor investigator would produce poor reports which would lead to nowhere.
He charged officers to be professional, adopt modern techniques of investigation, shun all acts of corruption and respect the rights of suspects.
“Therefore, you as leaders in your various formations, you must be able to acquire knowledge, the expertise on how to do it (investigate) and do it right. I want you to take the issue of corruption seriously because if there is a case of corruption in any of the state or zonal CID, I would hold you squarely responsible.”
He further stated that “as police officers, we cannot be the breakers of the laws; we must be the people to respect the law.
“It is against the law to use exhibits recovered from suspects and turn them to government property or personal use; it is wrong and this must stop.”
Earlier, Mr Peter Gana, the Deputy Inspector General of Police (Investigation), said continuous learning, attitudinal change, commitment and networking were some essential elements which could assist in handling investigation.
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