The Nigerian Railway Commissioner of Police, Mr.
Leye Oyebade, yesterday, vowed to do everything within the ambit of the law to stop
rooftop train riders.
Oyebade, who made this declaration during his first lecture
with his men moments after resuming as the new CP in charge of Railway Police Command,
in his office at Ebute-Metta, Lagos State, described the action of the rooftop
train riders as, “romancing with death.” This, he said, would be one of his focuses
as the CP Railway Command.
He added: “We’re going to hit hard on rooftop train
riders. We’re going to ensure they stop riding on the roof of trains. It’s an
eyesore and too dangerous to the riders and other people.”
According to Oyebade, he would have to work with Nigerian
Railway Corporation (NRC) to achieve this. It will be recalled that NRC had
made several concerted efforts to stop rooftop train riders, all to no avail. Oyebade,
however, said that such dangerous rides would stop under his watch.
Speaking further on his agenda, Oyebade noted that
he would introduce the Eminent People’s Forum, where important people in the community
would furnish police with ideas of moving the command forward.
He also stated: “We’re going to be policing with the
fear of God. We would follow the template of the Inspector- General of Police
(IGP), Mr Ibrahim Idris, which embraces the Eminent Persons Forum. Community policing
is now in vogue in all countries. We shall collaborate with members of the
community to achieve successes. We must also not forget that change begins me
or the IGP’s zero tolerance for corruption. We should do our police work with a
human face. We should be hardworking, honest and humble. We should be fair to
suspects and complainant.”
Oyebade, who said that no policeman can succeed
without a fear of God, disclosed that he was against cell congestion, stressing
that suspects were entitled to bail. He also charged the policemen to be
careful with the way they handle rifles.
His words: “There’s nothing like accidental
discharges. It’s only carelessness that can lead to a policeman shooting
somebody. We should be careful with our arms. We’re going to train and retrain
our policemen. We shall have seminars and train men in community policing. We
are going to be more proactive and preventive, than reactive. We shall bring medical
equipment into this command, so that policemen wouldn’t be collapsing. Policemen
should cultivate habit of going for medical checkup every six months. We shall
have introduced sporting activities.”
The CP, who disclosed that he had worked in the
Railway Command twice, before his present deployment, said that the government
was taking development of railway seriously and as such, policemen attached to
railway command, would key into it and ensure that the dream materializes.
“It’s our job to give backup to the personnel to
avoid hurdles or kidnapping of the Chinese personnel. Although I know Railway
Command more than most of you, but I must add that I have no monopoly of knowledge. I’m a team player. I want contributions from
everyone and anyone that would move the command forward,” said Oyebade.
While urging his men to have an attitudinal change
towards policing, he said that the new face of policing no longer encourages, “oga wetin you bring.”
He stressed: “We should make use of the five Ps,
which is; properly planning prevents poor performances. Whoever fails to plan,
plans to fail. We need to stand up and do the right thing. Fundamental of
policing is protection of lives and property. Police job is divine. Policing with
fear of God is a concept, which doesn’t add or subtracts from Police Acts and
Regulations. But will help you to be fair and firm.”
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