The Inspector General of Police. Mr. Ibrahim Idris, has lately ordered a nationwide audit of police personnel with a view to curb the sharp practices allegedly associated with the payment of salaries by the force.
Idris had, barely a month ago, ordered all the state commissioners of police to carry out the exercise, following a growing speculation that the police salary budget was overbloated. The IGP had initially employed the services of a private audit firm to assist in carrying out a discreet auditing of police “investments”, which included The Pension Office and the Co-operative Society. The idea was meant to lend credence to his zero tolerance for corruption.
A reliable source close to the Force Headquarters in Abuja told The Point that the recommendations of the audit firms were being followed to the letter by the Police Management Team, which recently ordered the physical audit of police personnel across the states.
The source added that the police in Lagos had in its employment about 10,000 officers, who had been complying with the IGP directive. At both the Zonal Command Headquarters and Oduduwa Street, where the police have their Mechanised Salary Section, thousands of uniformed officers were seen on Thursday milling around some of
the designated offices seeking to be screened by the officers saddled with the responsibilities of seeing to the success of the exercise.
In-depth checks revealed that serving officers were ordered to bring to the designated places their original letters of enlistment into the NPF and the certificates used at the point of entry into the force.
The officers, among other related matters, were also asked to give their job profile to ascertain their authenticity. They also asked questions bearing on the administrative structure of the NPF Some of the officers screened came from different parts of the
country, as they had been posted out for a very long time.
The process appeared to be a success, as no untoward incident was recorded at the screening centers.
Spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, Superintendent Dolapo Badmos, said
that the “screening of men and officers of the Nigeria Police Force is a routine exercise.”
Badmos added that, “The exerciseis in line with the IGP’s zero tolerance for corruption.”
