New IGP: There's no misappropriation of police fund

Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) Suleiman Abba Thursday debunked claims that funds deducted from salaries of police men for the 'police cooperatives' of which he is Chairman of the board was being siphoned through misappropriation.

Abba said that there was no basis for such claims.

He spoke the distribution of shares certificates of Nigeria Police Mortgage Bank to police men.

According to Abba, “I must tell you the system in handling deductions in police cooperatives has been going on for many years; if anybody is complaining or is having problems with crediting his account I think something is really wrong.”

IGP Abba added however that the such claims and allegations might “not be unconnected with the fact that “we have been struggling to computerize the activities of the cooperative, he said adding that, “There may be delay but not that anybody is tampering with funds.”

He said further, “I must tell you, I was worried because up till last week some of us were complaining, that it was fraudulent and if I tell you I wasn't worried I will be telling lies, because my hands were in it,” he said

“I was entrusted with the funds in the cooperatives and I was contributing billions to that venture (Police Mortgage Bank). If for any reason things had gone wrong, it wasn't only the former IG that would have been blamed.”

The acting IGP reaasured members of the force on the shares certificates of the Police Mortgage Bank distributed to police men.

Abba said the bank was set up to enable the police easy access to the funds of National Housing Scheme.

“If you hear the billions we have been contributing so far and we have not been able to access it, because we do not have an organized way of accessing it, you will agree with me that establishing the mortgage bank was a worthwhile venture,” he said.