Officers of the Nigerian Police have been asked to live above board and to see themselves as agents of change.

Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, gave the advice on Wednesday at the passing out of Course 11/2017 Batch 55/56 for Station Officers of the Command at the Police Training College Ikeja Lagos.

The CP commended his officers and men “for the wonderful job they are doing” asked them to see themselves first and foremost as Nigerians so as to be able to relate well with their fellow citizens.

He cautioned them to distance themselves from all forms of indiscipline, including collection of bribes, extortion and extra-judicial killings.

Owoseni noted that the current leadership of the Nigerian Police headed by Inspector General of Police Ibrahim Idris has zero tolerance for indiscipline.

He further told them that in all they do, they should have it at the back of their mind that one day they shall be accountable before their creator.

In his own remarks, the Commandant of the Nigerian Police Training College, ACP Kayode Egbetokun, enumerated the rationale behind the course for officers of the command.

He stated that the course was initiated by the current Police Commissioner in February 2016 with the aim of reforming certain categories of police officers who have fallen out of line (defaulters). Egbetokun said that the training has been extended to all categories of officers due to the success story recorded after the first batch of defaulting officers were trained. He said that as at the last count about 2,650 officers have passed through the training school in the past one year.

The Commandant expressed his joy at the success story recorded since the exercise started. According to him, the feedback from the various police stations across the state is heart-warning based on the impact recorded by those trained by the school.

He thanked the Commissioner of Police for his financial and material support to school since the training began, pledging that they would live up to expectations.

In their remarks some of the course participants expressed joy at the standard of learning at the training school.

They thanked the school for “reforming” them and making them better officers, even as they pledged to take back all they learnt to their various police stations and to extend such to their colleagues.

The highlight of the event was the issuance of certificate to the participants.

Sixty-seven officers made up mainly of officers within the rank of Inspector participated in the course.

Also in attendance was the Deputy Commandant of the Nigerian Police Training School, Nigeria’s first individual Olympic gold medallist, CSP Chioma Ajunwa-Oparah.

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