The Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, yesterday admonished police officers to be committed to excellent service delivery in the discharge of their duties. Addressing the Edo State Command in Benin City, Egbetokun emphasized the Federal Government’s and Police administration’s aim to create a police force capable of effectively responding to crime dynamics in society.
Egbetokun, on a two-day working visit to the state, disclosed ongoing efforts to improve the welfare of policemen across the country. “The Federal Government is committed to improving police welfare, and we are doing our best to ensure that policemen have improved welfare. Recently, we launched the police housing scheme to provide affordable houses to all police officers across ranks,” he stated. He further assured that officers would not retire without homes after 35 years of service, citing support from the federal government.
Highlighting other welfare initiatives, Egbetokun mentioned that the police high command is working on enhancing pension earnings for retired officers. “We have various insurance schemes for police officers, including the group life assurance scheme, the group personal accident scheme, the IGP Family welfare scheme, and the Nigeria Police welfare insurance scheme. All these are for the benefit of police officers,” he added.
Egbetokun announced that the Nigeria Police was recently rated as the most improved agency in anti-corruption in Nigeria, attributing this success to officers’ adherence to a new vision of professional, service-driven, rule of law-compliant, and people-friendly policing. He urged officers to maintain transparency and honesty in their interactions with the public, saying, “Do the best you can, serve the people to the best of your ability, and show commitment to the highest standard of integrity and public trust.”
Earlier, the state Commissioner of Police, Funsho Adegboye, informed the IGP of the state command’s significant achievements, particularly in tackling high-profile criminals and policing in Edo.
The commissioning of the newly built ultra-modern Benin Area Command Headquarters at Upper Sakponba Road in Benin marked the climax of the IGP’s visit.
