The acting Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun has declared that henceforth promotion in the Nigeria Police Force will be based only on merit.
Besides, the acting IGP hinted the readiness to reshuffle the Central Investigation Department of the force at the national and state levels with appointment of qualified personnel.
Egbetokun gave the hint on Friday while addressing officers and men at a special reception held in his honour at the Bompai police headquarters, Kano.
According to the acting IGP, the police is committed to building a specialised training facility for men and officers on specialised duties.
He added that only qualified and competent officers would be deployed to function in the new CID, which would be replicated in the state commands.
The Police boss equally cautioned men of the force against extortion and other negative tendencies capable of denting the image of the police.
“Henceforth only officers who can inspire public confidence will be given sensitive duty posts, such as Commissioners of Police, Area Commanders and DPOs. If you cannot inspire public confidence, you will not merit such positions.
“We want competence, we want honesty, we want integrity. That is the only way we can inspire public confidence. We want support of members of the public. We cannot be calling for support when we also are not showing transparency, we’re not showing competence and we are not showing capability.
“It is when we are able to do all these that we will mobilise for public support. Henceforth, promotion in the police will be merit-based. There will be no special promotion and if you want special promotion, you must merit it. For now, dishing out promotions anyhow has been stopped.
“I want you all to imbibe the spirit of cooperation and collaboration with members of the public. Modern policing is community-based, it is intelligence-led, and it is technology-driven.
“We must show commitment. We must show capacity. We must show integrity. We must show to the members of the public that we can be trusted. We are the lead agency in internal security. We have to demonstrate this.
“We must show commitment to professionalism. We must improve our relationship with members of the public. We must stop corruption and extortion in our system. It doesn’t pay us. Those who have been engaging in extortion, I want to ask you, how has extortion improved your quality of life?” the IG enquired.
The IGP applauded the performance of the state Commissioner of Police, urging the command not to relent in its effort towards making Kano a crime free society.
The Commissioner of Police, Mohammad Usaini Gumel, had told the IGP that the command has surmounted all security challenges he inherited upon assumption of office.
He vowed to continue to match his words with actions to ensure a crime free state, adding that 100 notorious thugs have laid down their arms and were now working with the Command towards ensuring peace and development in the state.