By STANLEY NWANOSIKE

The Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Police for Zone 13, Mr. Abayomi Oladipo, has cautioned police personnel against wearing masks under any guise in the performance of their duties.

Oladipo, whose Zone 13 covers Anambra and Enugu States, gave the warning on Wednesday in Enugu while addressing senior police officers in Enugu State during his one-day official working visit to the state.

The AIG said that face mask was never part of police uniform, adding that on no account should a superior or supervising officer allow anyone under them to dress in an unauthorized way.

He also urged officers and men to dismantle materials placed on the road while on stop-and-search duty.

Oladipo noted that leaving them could cause accidents at night or criminals taking over such spots pretending to be police personnel.

According to him, you must be alert at your duty post and do not lose guard about your surroundings as the possibility of being attacked is there; your families, loved ones and the Nigeria Police Force need you alive.

“If you are found wanting on issue of corruption, you will surely face the consequences and I have instructed that the appropriate punishment should be applied.

“Officers must make themselves accessible for complaints by Nigerians and strive to monitor what personnel under them are doing in order to checkmate any personnel that wants to carry out acts to give the police a bad image.

“Those of you who collude with criminals, yahoo boys, ritualists and others in communities and cover crime, the Nigeria Police Force is monitoring and praying to God that in no distant time, you will be exposed and you will be dealt with appropriately,” he said.

On welfare, Oladipo urged all personnel to ensure that their records were duly filled and confirmed, adding that issues of next-of-kin should be sorted out and clearly spelt out by all personnel.

The AIG commended the Enugu State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Mamman Giwa, and the Command for diligence and being proactive in ensuring the state remained safe and secured for residents and investors.

“The commissioner and the command are on top of the game and they are doing very well. I personally appreciate the challenges you go through in policing the state and ensuring safety of all,” he said.

Earlier, the commissioner said that the major challenges of the Command were inadequate manpower and limited logistics.

He noted that in spite of all diligent and dedicated efforts to bring about lasting peace and safety in the state, there were still challenges of farmers/herders clashes, irredentist group attack and sporadic criminal activities among others.

“However, Enugu State remains the safest state in the South-East and one of the safest states in the country recording excellent human and economic activities flow.

“We are assuring you, sir, that with deployment of new security strategies, which include the new rural communities’ patrol of the Command, there will be no hiding place for any criminal and we will continue to reduce crime rate in the state,” he said.

Oladipo, who is the supervisory AIG for the Police Command in Enugu State, toured various mobile police formations, tactical formations, some police area commands, Police College, Oji River and Police Detective College, Enugu. (NAN)