Police IG tells officers to stop getting kidnapped like a fowl

Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris has expressed his disappointment at the recent rise in the kidnapping of officers and advised them to take their personal security more seriously to arrest the trend.

The IGP asked officers, especially high ranking ones, to be more vigilant to avoid getting kidnapped because they'll always be targets.

While speaking during a monthly conference with Commissioners of Police (CPs) and other senior police officers in Abuja on Wednesday, October 18, 2017, he said personal security for officers is paramount to the fulfilment of their duties to the public.

He said, "We must take the protection of our officers seriously. We have a problem. Two days ago, one of our DPOs was kidnapped. How can you be a DPO, you have all the policemen under your command and then you start driving as if you don't have anybody.

"You allow the 'useless kidnappers' to pick you and your orderly, it is very embarrassing. We had the same issue in Zamfara state where an ACP going on leave travelled alone. It is embarrassing.

"Utilise the men you have and you must protect yourself first. You can only protect others when you are protected because you are a target.

"The information we are receiving is that our ACP's vehicle was abandoned in a bush and he has not been seen, which obviously means that he has been kidnapped.

"How can we be living in such situation? It is becoming an embarrassment. DPOs and other personnel should be careful of their movement.

"Our officers have to be concerned about their personal safety first because this issue is becoming an embarrassment. CPs would also be vicariously liable for any policeman that is just picked up like a fowl or anything, it is very annoying.

"We should be careful in our movement. If you notice that an area is not safe, you should deploy men in those areas. We should take their protection very seriously. Our policemen should also be careful with the way they move around."\

The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of Sarkin Pawa Division of the Niger State Police Command, Superintendent of Police (SP) Amos Aliyu, remains in captivity after he was kidnapped alongside his orderly by unknown gunmen on the evening of Sunday, October 15.

Assistant Commissioner of Police and Officer-in-Charge of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Zamfara State Police Command, Emmanuel Adeniyi, was also kidnapped alongside three of his family members in Kaduna on September 27 before they were later set free.

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To combat the scourge of kidnappings across the country, the IGP backed the bill passed by the National Assembly that recommended the death penalty as punishment for convicted kidnapping suspects.

He promised that the CP in charge of the legal department will constitute a team to strategise towards the successful prosecution of about three thousand kidnapping suspects.