Police boss is very embarrassed right now, here's why

Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, can’t conceal the egg on his face any longer.

The spate of kidnapping of police officers has sorely embarrassed Idris; more so because the police should ideally be the one watching over folks and stopping kidnappers from abducting anyone.

A Divisional Police Officer (DPO) who was abducted in Niger State earlier in the week, only just secured his release.

Aliyu Amos is a Superintendent of Police and DPO of Sarki Pawa Divisional Headquarters in Niger State.

The police top brass says Amos was rescued alongside four others, by Special Forces.

That means no ransom exchanged hands between the abductors and the police institution, according to police spokesperson Jimoh Moshood. But not everyone is always this fortunate.

Amos’ abduction brings to the fore the vulnerability of police officers in Nigeria. Some are attacked and killed in the line of duty when not abducted. A handful never make it out of the kidnappers’ den.

"Our officers have to be concerned about their personal safety first because this issue is becoming an embarrassment,” IGP Idris hollered into a gathering of State Police Commissioners in Abuja last Wednesday.

Idris also added that State Police Commissioners will henceforth be held to account if any police officer is abducted like a “fowl” on their watch.

Idris said; “Commissioners would be held liable for any policeman that is just picked up like a fowl or anything, it is very annoying.”

In September, Emmanuel Adeniyi who is a State Assistant Commissioner of Police in Zamfara, was kidnapped alongside his orderly and family members.

The incident occurred in Kaduna State.

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Kidnapping has morphed into a billion dollar industry in Nigeria with ransom payments and camps for the kidnapped, becoming the order of the day.

For the moment, the IGP considers the abduction of police officers very annoying and embarrassing.

And so should the rest of us.