Commissioner of Police, Abia State Command, CP Wilfred Olutokunbo Afolabi, has warned officers against arresting or treating anyone as a criminal based on appearance.
CP Afolabi who handed over the warning on Thursday when he engaged youths and other stakeholders in Osisioma Ngwa in a security sensitisation programme aimed at strengthening police-community relations and promoting collective efforts towards crime prevention and public safety, however enjoined youths to always dress responsibly.
The CP made it clear that the Command’s X-Squad was being activated to monitor officers at various duty posts to address misconduct .
While cautioning against bribery, he pointed out that both the givers and takers were culpable and encouraged prompt reporting of misconduct through the Command’s Complaint Response Unit (CRU).
The engagement which brought together youth groups, traders, transport unions, the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC), the Mayor, and other stakeholders featured the interactive session, where concerns raised by the youths focused on extortion, improper dressing of officers, demands for payment for bail and investigations, profiling of youths based on appearance, factory-fitted tinted vehicle windows, and inadequate patrol vehicles.
As part of the engagement, the CP paid a courtesy visit to Eze Chidi Obisike Nkoro, Chairman of the Osisioma Council of Traditional Rulers and solicited sustained collaboration in intelligence gathering and information sharing.
