POLICE GRADUATE ANTI-TERRORISTS SQUAD

By NBF News

Policemen who engage in bringing 'returns' to their superiors in Rivers State now risk losing their jobs with their cohorts. This is because the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Suleiman Abba, has banned extortion from the public and returns to some superiors in the force.

The order came just as 500 officers, belonging to the specialised anti-terrorist police squad graduated from their training in Port Harcourt.

The commissioner said he had directed all Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) in the state to implement a-no-returns order or suffer same fate with offenders.

Mr. Abba, who said he was bent on ensuring that proper disciplinary action was meted to erring officers, assured that he would neither accept returns nor defend any offender.

'The era of returns in Rivers State has stopped. I have directed all Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) in the state not to make or demand for returns from any officer.

When I came into office I said I would not accept any returns and I didn't. From now on I would not tolerate any form of extortion or returns in the State Police Command. That has stopped and no offender of this order henceforth will go unpunished by the command.'

However, the trainees were drilled in the areas of terrorism, self defense, intelligence, modern crime monitoring, bomb disposal, first aid and cordoning and rescue operations to tackle rising crime and kidnapping in the South-south and South-east regions of the country.

Speaking at the passing out parade in Nonwa, near Port Harcourt, the Minister of Police Affairs, Alhaji Waziri Adamu, said the training was part of Federal Government's policy to reform the Nigerian police to a functional level. Alhaji Adamu, who was represented by Mr. Sylvanus Akwubos, said the police had been repositioned to competently tackle crimes, terrorism and kidnapping with modern approach.

'It is now right to assert that you are combatant-compliant. Consider yourselves the right persons to combat crime, terrorism and kidnapping in the area. You can now navigate and monitor criminals with modern technology. If these men come together, we will add more life to the police,' he said.