IGP to officers: Your uniform can earn you paradise or hell

The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba, has commended his men and other security agencies for their efforts in securing Kwara State.

Speaking with officers and men of the Police Force during his visit to Ilorin, the state capital on Wednesday, Baba charged his men to rededicate themselves to the ideal of policing and to shun anything that could dent the image of the Force.

“You’re here doing the job of law enforcement officers. Most of us serving here must have come from other parts of the country. It is Nigeria Police, it is not Kwara Police or Ilorin Police.

“So, we must dedicate ourselves to do more. However, I want to congratulate you that Kwara State is the most peaceful state compared to many others,” Baba said.

The IGP again clarified that community policing remained a voluntary vocation meant for people with jobs but only wanted to give back to their society by helping to keep it safe. The clarification came on the heels of suggestions that the government is meant to pay some community police constabularies that were recently inducted across the country, including in Kwara. He urged police officers in the state to remain committed to their duties and to be ethical in doing so.

He told them that their uniforms could earn them paradise or hell based on how they carried out the task of policing the society.

He added: “When you dedicate yourself to your job as law enforcement officer, you have your reward not only here but also in heaven because it is a social service. This uniform will give you your paradise and it can also give you your hell. Depending on how you wear it and how you want work with it.”