Unprofessional conduct will be punished – Lagos CP

The Commissioner of police in Lagos State, CP Zubairu Muazu, on Tuesday said that unprofessional conduct by officers and men in his command would not go unpunished.

Muazu reiterated this while reacting to issues raised during a stakeholders forum on Police accountability organised by the Human Rights and Civil Society groups in Lagos.

He said the force was doing everything possible to ensure that officers and men adhered to the ethics of the profession, stressing that anyone involved in misdemeanour would not be spared.

The commissioner said the challenges facing the force were enormous, and called on stakeholders to assist the police in tackling some of them.

Muazu cleared the air on the arrest of some people in Lagos wearing dreadlocks and tattoos for cultism, saying that not all persons wearing such belong to criminal gangs.

He said that most units, including the anti-cultism unit under his command, were undergoing reforms to ensure they carry out their duties diligently for better results.

The police boss, who expressed concern over increasing sexual abuse of children and teenagers in the state, called on members of the public for assistance in limiting the crime.

He assured the groups of regular meetings, with a view to updating them on issues raised.

The National Coordinator of Network on Police Reform in Nigeria (NOPRIN), Mr Chukwuma Nwanguma, said the forum was established to provide a platform for engagement with the police in Lagos State.

Nwanguma said the forum was also to understand the functioning of the various public complaints and discipline mechanisms and how civil society and other stakeholders could engage and strengthen them.

He said the forum, since inception, conducted public enlightenment through town hall meetings to create awareness of the accountability mechanisms.

“This meeting is therefore to seek your support for continued engagement and partnership with the Lagos State police command under your leadership.

“We want to promote police accountability, which enhances cordial police-citizen relations, and improve police image as well as identify, recognise and reward good conduct, “ he said.

A retired AIG, Mr Austin Iwar, who commended the forum, said the security of lives and property does not lie solely on the police, but everyone in the country.

Iwar said if there were crimes in any state, the government in power should be bothered, because that was its responsibility.