Why NPF may not be able to pay damages awarded against it – PSC

THE Chairman, Police Service Commission, Musiliu Smith, has faulted the claim by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, that the #EndSARS protests that rocked the country, particularly the southern part, last year were instigated by religious and political leaders.

Smith, a former Inspector-General of Police, identified the misconduct of officers of the Nigeria Police Force as the primary cause of the October protests.

The ex-IGP lamented the level of misconduct in the police force, saying his office was always inundated with complaints from Nigerians.

Smith said the number of court cases against the police was alarming, hinting that the force may not be able to pay the damages being awarded against it. the is against the background of the high costs being awarded against the police at the ongoing judicial panel inquiry into the #EndSARS protests incidents.

The PSC chairman spoke at a retreat with the IG and his police management team, in Abuja on Tuesday.

Smith, however, did not mention that the protests, subsequently hijacked by hoodlums, particularly after the October 20, 2020 shootings at the Lekki Tollgate, were meant to overthrow the Buhari administration as claimed by the minister.

Commenting on the incident, the retired IG simply said, ” “We are always having a lot of complaints from the members of the public against police officers. I believe that #EndSARS resulted from serious misconduct of some of our personnel.

“I want to advise that we review the arrangements we are making for investigating such cases. Let’s ensure that investigations are thoroughly conducted and whoever is the police officer that has been indicted will be punished according to the law. If we are doing that, some of the public complaints will go down.”

Smith, who had been at loggerheads with the police leadership on the recruitment of police constables, also admonished IG Mohammed Adamu to work closely with the commission on the recruitment of credible Nigerians into the force.

In his remarks earlier, the IGP noted that the retreat was to bridge the communication gap and engender a better understanding and working relationship between the force and the police service commission.

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, who also spoke at the retreat, harped on the need for a harmonious working relationship among all the agencies of the government.