The Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris has directed immediate commencement of Stop and Search operations throughout the yuletide period.

• A statement by the Force spokesman, CSP Jimoh Moshood in Abuja on Saturday, said Idris directed all State Police Commands across the country to beef security at flashpoints, black spots and vulnerable points on major roads and highways across the country.
• He warned that in order to ensure the free flow of traffic and ease movement of travellers, the operation should not be located at areas susceptible to traffic gridlock or vehicular hold-ups.

“The Police teams on traffic control and observation patrols have been deployed to such points and sections to manage traffic and carry out Police observation duties,” he said.

• Moshood said that Idris further directed all Commissioners of Police to supervise police personnel deployed to these stop and search points to make sure that they are not turned into roadblocks.

“Members of the public should promptly report any roadblock seen mounted anywhere in the country to the IGP X-Squad,” he said.

• He said that all personnel of the force deployed for the Stop-and-Search operations were under strict instructions to be polite and civil in carrying out their duties.

“The Inspector General of Police, therefore, calls on all Nigerians especially travellers and other road users to cooperate with personnel of the Force deployed in their localities,” he said.

What this means: To start with, the IGP or the X-Squad cannot be everywhere at the same time and even when roadblocks are reported, the response, as usual, will only come at a later time, or when it turns into a movement on social media.

Unless the Police is acting upon some intelligence or aiming to curtail criminal activities on the roads, this ‘stop and search’, that will most definitely turn into roadblocks that have been claimed to be off the roads, is unnecessary.

Omoleye Omoruyi

Omoleye Omoruyi… an apprentice web/game developer, novelist, sensitive to happenings in the world. Meet him @Lord_rickie on Twitter/Instagram