By TINA TIMOTHY

Recruits undergoing training at Police Training School, Nekede, Owerri, Imo State, have cried out to the Force Headquarters to urgently intervene to save the trainees from alleged oppression and exploitation by authorities of the training school.

A top source close to the Police hierarchy, in confirming that the trainees were being subjected to untold hardship in the forms of oppression and exploitation, said: “It has been brought to my attention that Police trainees at Police Training College, Nekede, Owerri, Imo State, are going through serious extortion in the hands of the authorities of the Training School.

“According to the trainees, authorities at the Force Headquarters are not aware of what is going on and they want this brought to their attention for urgent intervention to save them from the oppressive and exploitative activities of the authorities of the Training school.

“According to the trainees, they have never received any kind of allowance but are still being extorted.

“At the last count, according to them, they are four hundred and forty five (445) in number.

The source quoted the trainees as saying: “Immediately we reported to the training school, we were ordered to drop our phones with the school authorities. That's the instructions across all the training schools, as a result of the insecurity.'

“As such, the school now took advantage of the fact that we can't have access to our phones, which is a means of communication, to extort the trainees.

“We were made to contribute 100 Naira each for light; 100 Naira each for water; 25,000 Naira each for text books; 5000 Naira each for trainees uniform (Green and White); 4000 Naira each for fencing of the school; 1700 Naira for Belt and Beret. All these payments are compulsory for all trainees.

“We have also been asked to prepare to pay for Handouts; Examination; Passing out; Police uniforms; Police accoutrements; Shoes, Head gear, Belt, Etc. The few of us that reported to our families when our families visited were severely punished.”

Update news