Police shootings: Senior officers to pay for subordinates’ killings, atrocities

....patrol teams to use Tasers, stunt guns
Taiwo Jimoh

Following the increasing cases of trigger happy policemen killing and inflicting gunshot injuries on civilians, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, yesterday said that henceforth area commanders and Divisional Police Officers (DPO) will be held liable for any killings or atrocities committed by their subordinates.

Adamu, who made this declaration during a visit to the Lagos State Police Command, said that he specifically came to pay his condolences to families of victims of police killings and shootings.

Four sergeants and one Inspector were arrested for being part of a team that shot Adaobi Ifeanyi to death on Saturday at the Wilmer area of Ajegunle and inflicted bullet wound on her boyfriend, Emmanuel Akomafuwa.

The shooting of the couple and subsequent death of Adaobi came about two weeks after Kolade Johnson, a South Africa returnee was shot to death by policemen from Anti-Cultism Unit at Onipetesi, Mangoro, Abeokuta Expressway, while he was watching Liverpool match at a viewing centre with some friends.

The IG, who addressed senior policemen and rank and files at the Ikeja Police College, threatened that any policeman involved in misuse of firearms would be charged with murder.
He said: “Our visit to Lagos today is therefore designed to make a number of clear statements. First is to condole with families of victims of the recent incidents of misuse of firearms or other forms of abuse of power by identified policemen personnel and to share in their grief. The second is to reassure citizens that as an institution, the Nigeria Police does not and will never condone any form of abuse of power, acts resulting in misuse of firearms, overzealousness and sundry professional conducts by any member of the police regardless of his or her rank or position.”
Adamu, who described killings and shootings of civilians by policemen as, “ sad and unfortunate,” stressed that, “furthermore, the line supervisors of such officer, including the area commander, divisional police officer or sectional head shall be held vicariously liable for lacking supervision and shall be sanctioned. This is the force policy and no one should be in doubt as to our strong will to enforce it. It is within this context that all personnel that were involved recent incidents were arrested and are being made to answer for their misconducts."
The number one policeman in the country, who said that enough was enough, added that the nation and indeed the police under his leadership would no longer tolerant abuses associated with police either in Lagos or other parts of the country.
"I have ordered that a signal be circulated to all police Commands and Formations warning of dire consequences against any personnel. I’m sounding this note of warning that any police personnel that insists on being incorrigible by engaging in abuse of his or her powers or misuses his weapons with fatal outcomes and in utter disregard to statutory provisions will be arrested, investigated through our internal disciplinary machinery and if found culpable shall be dismissed from service,” said Adamu.
He further said: “ In the long term, rather than the use of firearms, we shall henceforth use technologies and weapon systems such as electro-muscular disruption technology which is commonly known as Taser or Stun Guns by policemen for routine patrols as a strategic approach towards reducing incidents of fatalities associated with misapplication of lethal weapons by the police. In perfecting these initiatives, we shall be engaging with human rights bodies, International agencies, development partners and Civil Society Organisations to train our men on how to relate with the public.”
He noted that in the coming days, more administrative actions directed at giving a new orientation to all police personnel and re-jiggling the Lagos State Police Command would be undertaken.
He stated: "This may involve personnel re-organisation. There will be nationwide tailor-made training and capacity development programmes that are directed at reorientating personnel to human rights and professional conduct."
Adamu, who commended policemen attached to the Lagos State Police Command for their dedication to crime fighting, encouraged them to do more and keep to international standards.