Abuja, Jan. 29, 2024 – The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) on Monday directed that its officers on Stop-and-Search duties must be in uniform with their name tag clearly attached.
Muyiwa Adejobi, the Spokesman for the NPF, made this clarification via a post on his X handle in reaction to a video of four policemen in mufti stopping a driver on Lekki-Epe Express Way.
The officers had approached the man to ask for his tinted permit, but he replied by asking for their identities, saying there was nothing to indicate they were policemen.
Adejobi said the affected policemen had been traced to Zone 2.
He said the AIG Zone 2 in Lagos was investigating the matter, “while the PPRO Zone 2 will speak to it as soon as possible.”
Adejobi said the NPF had ordered that any policeman embarking on routine patrol or stop-and-search must be in uniform, properly dressed, and easily identifiable.
He said that it was wrong for a policeman in mufti to stop and search motorists.
“You will recall that we have ordered and announced that any policeman embarking on routine patrol or stop and search must be in uniform, properly dressed, and easily identified. It’s not ideal to carry out a stop and search in mufti.
“The audacity to misbehave or carry out unprofessional conduct comes when you know your identity is hidden and unknown.
“ I still reiterate that policemen on stop and search and routine patrol must be in uniform. That is the standard in the police.
“Policemen in mufti are supposed to be on surveillance or undercover and not to be seen with long-range guns or rifles.
“This is what our DPOs and HODs should emphasise and enforce to bring sanity and standardisation.” (GBN)
