TheCable

Solomon Arase, chairperson of the Police Service Commission (PSC), says the commission will prioritise the welfare of officers to curb corruption within the force.

Speaking with state house correspondents after he was sworn in as PSC chairman on Wednesday, Arase said to make police officers diligent and perform optimally, their welfare must be taken into consideration.

“Well, as an inspector-general of police, the way I looked at the issue of corruption was to identify it from the source,” Arase said.

“When you tackle issues that are likely to increase the tendencies to be corrupt, you deal with it. How are you taking care of their welfare?

“How are you ensuring that when they retire, they have a decent house to go to? How are you taking care of their children? Can we organise scholarship schemes for them?

“Can we ensure that when we deploy them, they have the necessary work equipment? When you respect people who work for you… even your dogs, when they see you, they will wag their tails.

“So we must take the interest of the Nigerian police officers into consideration and we’ll douse the issue of corruption.”

‘Discipline will be taken seriously’

Arase said the officers will be made to undergo more training in order to bridge the trust gap between the force and the public.

“We will be strong in training in various areas, especially alternative dispute resolution,” he said.

“The issue of discipline will be taken seriously. I will not want a situation where civil situations arise. So any officer who steps out of the line, there will be consequences. But at the same time, they are my colleagues and children. So I’m going to make sure that I sharpen their skills.

“I’ll ensure that they start having confidence in themselves. With more training, the trust gap between members of the public and the police will be bridged. That is what I want to do; that members of the public will collaborate with the police force, and see them as part of the larger society.

“The benefits that are derivable from good conduct as a police officer, they will continue to reap it when they retire. So that is what I will emphasise.”

On steps to improve the relationship between the commission and the police, Arase said: “If you look at the calibre of people you have in the commission, then you also look at the professional skills of the police management team, there is no way that there won’t be occasional issues.

“What I think we should do is that each of the parties should not learn to take everything. There must be negotiation, empathy, and respect for each of our roles.

“I will expect that the commission allows the IGP to exercise his operational control over the police. And that the IG himself will respect the constitutional powers of the PSC. So, there must be mutual respect between both parties. I don’t foresee any crisis at all.”