IG charges special squad to end crime in Kogi

The Acting Inspector General of Police (IG), Ibrahim Idris, has charged officers drafted on special operation to Kogi to tackle kidnapping, armed robbery and other crimes in the state.

He stated this during the launch of ‘Operation Total Freedom’ at the 25th anniversary of the state’s creation at the weekend.

The inspector general who spoke in an address read by the DIG in Charge of Operations, Habila Joshak, warned the officers against extorting members of the public.

“All the expressways and nooks and crannies of the state must be made free for the people. All the rocks and the mountains where the kidnappers are operating must be combed,” he charged them.

Meanwhile, the police authorities have debunked an online media report accusing the Acting Inspector General of Police of embezzlement of public funds and unlawfully selling vehicles to fictitious claimants, among other charges.

Idris was also accused of frequent abandonment of his duty post and sexual relationship with subordinates while he was the Kano State Commissioner of Police.

Senior police officers said the sale of cars was not within the jurisdiction of the IGP, adding that if the online platform had verified its claims it would know the police boss has no right to auction vehicles.

According to the police source: “It is public knowledge that most auctioned cars are those recovered by the police from armed robbery suspects, purchased with stolen fund or from accident scenes.

“After some time the authority would secure a court order to auction unclaimed vehicles in order to decongest its environment after which it would place a public notice in national dailies asking owners to come with proof of ownership to claim their vehicle within 10 days or risk it being auctioned.

“ In all this, neither the Commissioner of Police of a state nor the IGP is directly involved in the auction. It is the police high command that is saddled with this responsibility. However, auctioneers are expected to auction this seized vehicles on behalf of the police. In doing this auctioneers are not bound by law to verify addresses or identities of buyers.”