Lagos State governor, Babatunde Fashola, yesterday charged men of the Nigerian Police not to see their uniforms as tools to brutalize innocent citizens, urging them not to allow their uniforms get into the hands of criminals. The governor, who called on the federal and state governments to equip the police, said the nation can build a 21st century police force that will have the best and brightest career that will reach the top, if everyone could collaborate to make the nation’s police more functional.
Speaking while unveiling the ICT Centre for Area ‘F’ Police Command, Ikeja, Fashola bemoaned the way some policemen treat the citizens despite knowing that their salaries and wages are being paid from their taxes.
He said the ICT project was initially designed to address traffic management, but that in the process, the government realised the project had gone beyond traffic management. “All over the world, whenever one sees a police officer, he or she will believe that he is safe. And nothing can be more shocking to the citizens that such police officer was a fake police officer, because all of his sense of safety will evaporate immediately.
“So this uniform must not be tool for brutalising the citizens. The citizens come first because that was the reason for putting on that uniform. Please continue to do your work because if no one values your work, I do. And I hope that these facilities will help enhance your work,” Fashola said.
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