Kwara Police Command Defies IGP, Mount Checkpoints

Kwara State police command has defied the warning of the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Sunday Arase to desist from mounting checkpoints across the country.

Arase had given the warning in Ilorin, the state capital on Thursday during his one day working visit to the state where he warned the state police commissioners across the 36 states of federation from sending their men to mount checkpoints.

Arase however said that, mounting of checkpoints was not the best way to prevent crimes but rather it was meant to extort money from the motorists plying the roads.

But, THISDAY checks revealed on Friday that, men and officers of the state command defied the directive and still mounted checkpoints along major roads in the state.

Eye witness account told journalists yesterday that, men and officers of the state police command had taken over some major roads in the state, stopping motorists to check their vehicles and extorting money from them.

Reports from Ilorin-AjaseIpo – Oro- Omu-Aran roads on Friday revealed that, no fewer than 10 checkpoints were mounted by the men and officers of the state police command despite the warning to stop such attitude.

It was further learnt that the officers also took over the Ilorin- Eiyenkorin- OtteOgbomoso road where they were collecting toll from the motorists indiscriminately.

Sources said that the men and officers of the state police command would only stop the motorists just to collect money and later allowed them to move on.

However, some of the motorists who spoke on condition of anonymity called on the IGP not to take it lightly with any state police command that goes against his warning.

They said that such move would go a long way of serving a deterrent to any state police command that found culpable in the act.

They also advised the IGP to put up an independent monitoring unit across the states of the federation that would see to the total compliance, adding that any men and officers of any state police command still mounting checkpoints should be dealt with according to the laws setting up the Nigeria Police Force in the country.

Contacted on the development yesterday, the state police command Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ajayi Okasanmi said that, ‘I will tell my state police commissioner so as to address the issue”.