IGP Calls for Strict Monitoring of Firearms

Senior Police Officers in the country were on Wednesday, called upon by the Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, to strictly monitor the utilization of firearms and ammunitions by officers under them. The IGP, who disclosed this through the Force Police Public Relations Officer (FPPRO), ACP Olabisi Kolawole, maintained that the directive was sequel to some alleged killings by drunken and trigger-happy policemen in different parts of the country. The IGP further expressed sadness over what he described as unlawful killings, just as reiterated the need for Assistant Inspectors-General, Commissioners and Area Commanders of various commands and units to strictly monitor the use of firearms. Arase said, “Police personnel are supposed to account for arms and ammunition signed out to him or her to the supervisor. “No policeman is allowed to dispense any bullet without accounting for it to the supervising officer. “No policeman is allowed to kill unlawfully. It is an offense to be drunk while in uniform and carrying guns. “Policemen have been trained on how and when to use the firearms. “They are not allowed to shoot indiscriminately. Policemen attached to anybody can only use firearms if the person they are attached to is in danger. “It is wrong for a policeman attached to an individual to start shooting into the air in a party or any other function where nobody is under threat. “Anyone caught doing so unlawfully will face the law. The supervising officers are advised to monitor their men because they will answer questions if anything goes wrong.”