The Police Service Commission (PSC) has called for total overhaul of the Special Police Constabulary.
In a statement signed by the PSC spokesperson, Ikechukwu Ani, the Commission said it is “no longer comfortable with the organisation and operations of the Special Police Constabulary nationwide.”
The statement quoted the PSC chairman, Dr Solomon Arase to have said that “the Commission will work with the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force to sanitise the organisation and operations of the outfit.”
Dr. Arase said there is an urgent need to differentiate the special constabulary from regular police officers and clearly define their operations, including uniforms and rules of engagement.
The statement also added that “there have been several reports of unprofessional conduct by officers of the outfit, a quasi-Police formation created to assist in community policing.
“Reports of their unprofessional conduct ranges from high handedness in dealing with citizens and bare faced extortion on our roads and communities.”
The commission called for an entirely different set of uniforms for officers of the outfit that should be easily differentiated from that of the regular police officers as this will help to track appropriately the conduct of men of the outfit and that of the regular police officers and free the Nigeria Police Force from blames associated with the misconduct of men of the outfit.
The commission further called for the disbandment of the outfit in states where they are not salaries and taken care of.
It noted that it was dangerous to arm a group of people and license them to provide security, maintain law and order in states and communities across the country without basic financial remuneration.
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