Nigerian Police Will Not Partner With Outlawed Groups – Inspector-General, Egbetokun Responds To Inquiry On Asari Dokubo
Olukayode Egbetokun, the acting Inspector-General of Police, on Friday said that the Nigeria Police Force will only engage all agitator groups but will not establish partnership with any of them.
Egbetokun made this known on Friday during his maiden conference with members of the Police Management Team at the Goodluck Jonathan Peacekeeping Hall, Force Headquarters, Abuja, which was attended by senior police officers from the ranks of Deputy Inspectors-General of Police, Assistant Inspectors-General of Police, and Commissioners of Police, amongst others.
The Acting IGP while responding to a question on whether or not the police would partner with non-state actors such as the ex-militant leader, Asari Dokubo, who recently accused security agencies of being complicit in oil bunkering in the Niger Delta region of the country, said, “Of course, we will engage all groups, but we won’t partner with outlawed groups.”
Egbetokun stressed the need for police to be proactive to prevent rather than react to criminal activities in the country and also promised improved welfare for police officers, while reiterating his commitment to improved interagency collaboration between the police and other security agencies.
Recall that SaharaReporters had reported how the ex-militant leader, Dokubo, while addressing journalists after his meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Aso Rock Villa on June 17, accused security agencies, particularly the military and the Nigerian Navy of being complicit in oil bunkering in the Niger Delta.
Dokubo claimed that ordinary citizens cannot garner the resources and technology needed to engage in oil bunkering, especially connecting pipes directly to oil heads to tap crude.
Dokubo, who denied having a private security force, said he had been instrumental in calming the crisis in the Niger Delta and Kaduna parts of Nigeria.