The Police Service Commission, PSC, has urged some members of the Nigerian Police to return to their duty posts despite the killing of over 22 policemen during the violence that erupted after the #ENDSARS protests.
Ikechukwu Ani, spokesperson of the PSC stated the killing of police officers was painful but should not be a reason for police operatives in the country to abandon their duty of protecting the nation.
“The Nigeria Police Force is part of the public service and the public service is guided by the Public Service Rules. If you don’t come to work without permission, the punishment is dismissal if it is proven.
“The police as public servants are guided by the rules; so, they cannot on their own say they won’t go to work. Although, the Police Service Commission is also working to make sure they are protected because they are human beings; their lives also matter,” he said.
Section 030402 of the Public Service Rules lists absence from duty without leave as serious misconduct, which can be investigated and if proved, may lead to dismissal.
Ani also warned against further attacks on police officers, saying it could lead to anarchy.
“It would be an ill-wind that blows nobody any good but it is not a reason for anybody to say he won’t go to work. If you don’t go to work, the Public Service Rules will take its course,” he said.
Several reports indicate that policemen had stayed away from blackspots and their duty posts following the killing of their colleagues by suspected hoodlums who hijacked the #EndSARS protests.
“When you make Nigeria lawless and ungovernable, there would be a situation nobody would be able to control,” Ani stated.
Mohammed Adamu, Inspector-General of Police, IGP last week had ordered the immediate deployment of Nigeran anti-riot police unit of the Police Mobile Force to protect lives and property of Nigerians.
However, the riot policemen have also failed to respond to incidents of looting and vandalism of public and private property by miscreants in defiance of a directive by the IGP.
Musiliu Smith, the Chairman of PSC also urged the police to restructure their anti-crime strategies, assuring officers and men of the Force of improved welfare.
He stated this when he inspected some of the damaged police formations in the Lagos State Command alongside some retired senior officers.
He emphasized that officers and men of the command should take the ugly incident as one of the challenges and hazards of police job in a “developing country like ours.”
