The Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, on Tuesday cautioned the public against corrupting police personnel by giving them bribes or paying for release of suspects.
Arase stated that any policeman who demanded bribe should be reported to senior officers for disciplinary action.
Answering questions from journalists during a meeting with senior officers at the Force headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday, the IG insisted that bail is still free, stressing that no one should pay for it.
He said, “We have a zero tolerance for that: paying to free suspects. I am appealing to members of the public, do not corrupt my policemen. It takes two to tango.
“If they asked you for bribe and you refused to give, and you have avenues where your grievances can be ventilated, I do not see any reason why you should give them bribe.
“The Commissioner of Police is there, the Area Commander is there, the DPO is there, our office is there and the technical platform (www.stopthebribes.net) is there.
“We have opened ourselves to public accountability, so you cannot now say the whole problem should be put on the police Force.”
Arase earlier announced that two suspected kingpins responsible for the spate of the kidnappings in Ekiti State had been arrested on Tuesday morning, adding that cultists operating in Edo had been “technically amputated” with the arrest, and transfer to Abuja, of 11 suspects believed to be their ring-leaders.
He described Kogi, Rivers and Benue as problematic states in terms of crime and promised to massively deploy personnel to the states in 48 hours to tackle the problem.
“We are sending the message loud and clear that we will not allow any miscreant to turn any state in the federation into a lawless state. Wherever we find them, we will pursue them; we will arrest and prosecute them,” he said.
Arase advised Commissioners of Police on timely report of security threat in their respective states to the Force Headquarters for possible intervention.
He threatened to sanction any CP who allowed the security situation in his command to get out of hand, causing embarrassment to the nation before reporting it for intervention.
Arase said the meeting was called to assess the success of special operations by the police in Edo and Ekiti States in the last two weeks.
The IG also said the parley would map out strategies to ensure hitch-free inauguration of elected leaders on Friday.
