80% of policemen are security men to prominent Nigerians – Police

The Nigeria police has decried the the current indiscriminate allocation of policemen to provide security for prominent individuals in Nigeria.

Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG), Zone 5, Rasheed Akintunde, said only 20 per cent of policemen are engaged in protecting lives and ensuring peace in the country while 80 percent are personal securities.

Mr. Akintunde said this on Thursday while addressing officers and men of the Police Headquarters in Bayelsa, during his tour of the Arda.

“The remaining 80 per cent are just busy providing personal security to some `prominent people’ on guard duties.

“Every big man wants personal security, they want a number of policemen to come and secure them and their family members, instead of supporting the police to work and ensure a safer environment.

“Honourable members want police security, even Reverend Fathers, Bishops now want police security, so the remaining 20 per cent police the whole country.

“If we can redistribute policemen from some government formations and deploy them to work on their core duty, it will yield positive result,’’ he said.

The AIG, however, urged all the officers in the command to be on their toes and be committed to their duties.