Police say officers were never arrested but invited
The Nigeria Police Force has revealed that the Special Investigation Panel probing allegations of extrajudicial killings, extortion, unprofessionalism, levelled against officers at the Anambra State Police Command and Zone 13, Ukpo-Dunukofia, has commenced a full-scale investigation into the allegations as investigators have moved to scenes and sites for on-the-spot-assessment.
The police also denied allegations of the initial arrest and subsequent release of the officers in question.
The Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, revealed this in a statement obtained by our correspondent on Tuesday.
He noted that the team was also tasked to harness all available means and spread its tentacles towards ensuring that all information received via the channels made available to the public were properly examined to assist the investigations, subsequent report of findings and recommendations.
Adejobi said, “The NPF wishes to disabuse the minds of well-meaning members of the public and all interested stakeholders that the panel, composed of respected and thoroughbred officers including officers of the Inspector General of Police Monitoring Unit, reports directly to the IG, and shall discharge the responsibility professionally and ensure justice.
“The NPF also reassures (Nigerians) that the Anambra RRS, Awkuzu, will definitely be reorganised and sanitised to suit the present ideologies and administrative styles of the Force leadership in conformity with international best practices. This sanitisation will be equally extended to other tactical squads across the NPF.
It added, “Furthermore, it is imperative to clear the air that the officers fingered in the trending allegation were never arrested or detained. Rather, they were summoned to the Force Headquarters for interrogation in order to have a clue on the trending allegations.
“Due to the denial of the allegations raised by a blogger, the IG then set in motion the process for diligent investigations.
“It is, however, crucial to state that this process/development will not in any way truncate the current conscientious investigation into the allegations as many aggrieved persons have reached out to the panel for more deliberations and information sharing.”
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