Police PRO: “We grieve whenever a policeman kills a Nigerian”

The Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, says it grieves the Police whenever a innocent Nigerian is killed by either an officer or man of the security arm.

Addressing protesters at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, on Friday, April 5, 2019, Mba noted that the constitutional duty of the Police is to protect the lives and properties of Nigerians.

Protesters lead by Deji Adeyanju had besieged the Louis Edet House to demand justice for Kolade Johnson, a Nigerian who was killed by a Police inspector while watching a football match in Lagos state on Sunday, March 31, 2019.

Inspector Ogunyemi Olalekan and Sergeant Godwin Orji have been implicated in the fatal shooting of Kolade Johnson [Nigeria Police Force/Tori] tori

While apologising to families who have lost loved ones to actions and inactions of his colleagues, the FPRO maintained that it is not the desire of the Police to take lives.

"I will like to use this opportunity to condole with every single family that have lost lives as a result of the contact with officers and men of the Nigeria Police," Mba began.

He continued: "Let me say that it is never our desire to go out and take lives. It is our moral and constitutional responsibility to protect lives and property. Therefore, whenever through our action or inactions, a life is lost, we grieve because we are part and parcel of the society. We also grieve because somehow, somewhere, one of us has failed us."

Frank Mba [Facebook/Nigeria Police Force] Pulse Nigeria

The Police spokesman lamented the poor funding of the Police.

He urged the National Assembly to pass the Police Reform and Police Trust Fund bills.

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"I will also want to admit the fact that there are fundamental challenges facing the Police. It is not just about SARS. It is a huge fundamental problem that cuts across the administration of the criminal justice system. This problem cuts across the funding of the Police, inadequate funds for training and retraining of Police personnel, and obsolete logistics that we have to contend with most times in discharging of our responsibilities.

Nigerians demand Justice for Kolade Johnson Nigerians demand Justice for Kolade Johnson Pulse Nigeria

"We also want Nigerians to understand that we need a lot of support because an efficient, effective and well-funded Police Force can even reduce physical contact between the policemen and the public because there are lots of technologies that you can deploy today that would reduce physical contact.

"We were at the National Assembly two days ago and the deputy chairman of the Senate Committee on Police Affairs, Senator Stella Oduah, after looking at our budget said it is only a miracle that we are actually performing our duties. She described Nigerian policemen as miracle workers because of what is available for us to work with," he announced.