30th July, 2014
To make the Nigeria Police more effective and goal-oriented, the force needs to be reconditioned and given a facelift, Dayo Saka Fafunmi, the lawmaker representing Ifako-Ijaiye Constituency 2 at the Lagos State House of Assembly, said in a recent interview.
Fafunmi, Chairman of the House Committee on Public Account for Local Government, who agreed that, like in other systems in the country, there was corruption in the Nigeria Police Force, said the government must immediately begin to look at ways of enhancing the force for better security of lives and properties.
He also supported serious sanctions for erring police officers saying: “if a policeman asks for bribe and it can be established, then he should be dealt with.
“We have seen cases where a policeman asked for a bribe and it got to the Internet as it was recorded with a phone and the officer was later punished by the authority.
“That would tell you that the police authority does not encourage corruption, though it is glaring that there is corruption in the force.
“You cannot destroy the entire force because of the bad eggs in it. If you want to report such and you have proof, the officer would be punished.”
He suggested that to reduce the level of corruption in the force, the uniform of the policemen should first be changed to make them look neat, their salaries and allowances should be promptly paid.
According to him, if this is in place, every police officer would be conscious that he is being monitored from the office and would do things right.
“I have seen an instance where a policeman lied against me and my driver and said so many nasty things against me and a lot of people came out. He lied against my driver and I was right inside the car.
“Not knowing I am a lawmaker, one of the policemen even threatened to beat me up, but I told him that he had no right to do that even if I am wrong. I told him he could only arrest me.
“Nigerians must be alive to their rights. We must continue to sensitize our people, it is a continuous effort and it is what the press should do. You should continue to talk about wrong acts.
“I have seen decent and responsible policemen that discharge their duties in such a way that would want you to join the Police Force.
We would not write the police force off; in fact this is one of the reasons we have been clamouring for state police,” he said.
Asked what chances the Speaker of the House, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, has in the State governorship election in 2015, Fafunmi said like every aspirant, Ikuforiji was qualified to run for the office.
“Mr. Speaker is a politician; he knows his onions and the rules of the game. He is a man, who has laboured and worked tirelessly for the enthronement of democracy in Lagos State. He has ensured stability in Lagos and in the House of Assembly; I want to believe that he understands the rules and knows how to play the game.
“He is not a man that you can push around and I respect him for that. I can also say that the party has not picked a candidate. We don’t just pick a candidate, we will go through primaries. That is what our leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said and that is what we all believe would happen in APC.