“Everywhere in the world, a police force is a representative of the people and the government such that there is a need to give it an ethos that will be admired by all,” according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN).
Osinbajo spoke when he received on behalf of the president, the Annual Report of the Police Service Commission (PSC) from the acting chairman, Justice Clara Ogunbiyi (rtd) who led a delegation of the Commission’s Management Team to the Presidential Villa earlier today.
The PSC presents an annual report in accordance with Section 17 of the Police Service Commission (Establishment) Act 2001.
The VP in a statement by his media aide, Mr Laolu Akande, stated that the Nigeria Police Force is “in many ways, the first line of civil authority and in any country, it is a representative of the people.
“For many reasons, people regard the performance of the police as the performance of the government,” therefore “the force must be diligent in how it carries out its function.”
While commending the commission for their clarity of vision, hard work and having the difficult task of managing a huge police force with several challenges, the VP emphasized that the “ethos of the police force is something we have to take seriously.”
Referencing some parts of the report, Prof Osinbajo noted the issue of the internal investigation of the police when things go wrong.
“I think that it is very crucial because we mustn’t give the impression to the Nigerian public that the police will get away with anything and that whatever happens, there is no accountability.
