IG orders monitoring of firearms usage by officers
(Nigeria) The Inspector-General of Police, Mr Solomon Arase, on Wednesday called on
senior police officers to monitor strictly the use of firearms and ammunition
by officers under them.
The Force Police Public Relations Officer, FPPRO, Olabisi
Kolawole, disclosed the IG’s order in an interview in Lagos.
Kolawole said the order was sequel to some alleged killings
by drunken and trigger-happy policemen in different parts of the country.
He said that Arase expressed sadness over unlawful killings
and restated the need for Assistant Inspectors-General, Commissioners and Area
Commanders of various commands and units to monitor strictly the usage of firearms.
According to him, police personnel are supposed to account
for arms and ammunition signed out to him or her to the supervisor.
``No policeman is allowed to dispense any bullet without
accounting for it to the supervising officer. No police man is allowed to kill
unlawfully. It is an offence to be drunk while in uniform and carrying gun.
``Policemen have been trained on how and when to use the
fire arms,’’ Kolawole said on telephone.
``They are not allowed to shoot indiscriminately. Policemen
attached to anybody can only use firearms if the person they are attached to is
in danger. It is wrong for a policeman attached to an individual to start
shooting into the air in a party or any other function where nobody is under
threat.
``Any one caught doing so unlawfully will face the law. The
supervising officers are advised to monitor their men because they will answer
questions if anything goes wrong.’’
On the policemen that have allegedly killed, the police boss
said they would face the law after dismissal.
It will be recalled that within the last one week, a drunken
Police Sergeant killed three friends and himself in Lagos, while another killed
three persons in Enugu State.
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