Socio-Economic
Rights and Accountability Project, has asked the Independent Corrupt
Practices and other related offences Commission to look into the
management and spending of budgets meant for police colleges and the
welfare of trainees.
This came as human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), commended the report by Channels Television exposing the “dehumanising” condition at the Police College, Ikeja, Lagos.
Falana, in a statement on Sunday, added that President Goodluck
Jonathan’s questioning of how the television’s reporter was able to gain
access and record the “mess” in the college as unwarranted.
In a petition dated January 18 and addressed to the ICPC Chairman,
Mr. Ekpo Nta, SERAP called for a probe into the management of the budget
for the colleges to put a stop to mismanagement of funds in that
sector.
The petition, signed by its Executive Director, Mr. Adetokunbo
Mumuni, stated that the ICPC should urgently start the investigation
“in order to establish whether such budgets have been spent as allocated
or simply stolen, misused or mismanaged, and to ensure that any
suspected perpetrators are brought to justice”.
Mumuni attributed the inability of the police to adequately police
the country to “the poor, dehumanising, and deteriorating state of the
Police College, Ikeja and other police colleges in the country”.
The petition read in part, “The ICPC should fully and transparently
investigate the management and spending of the budgets for police
colleges for the past 10 years, and to establish the use to which the
budgets have been put.
“The commission should make public the findings of its investigation.”
Falana said policemen trained under the conditions of the police colleges would not work for the interest of the country
He also warned the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Mohammed
Adoke, against to punishing officials of the Ikeja Police College over
the Channels Telelvision’s report.
“In questioning how the Channels Television was able to gain
entrance and record the mess in the college, the President must have
forgotten that the era of secrecy in government has gone with the
Freedom of Information Act enacted last year by the National Assembly.
“It is hoped that the AGF will make it abundantly clear to the
Federal Government that the officials of the Ikeja Police College cannot
be sanctioned or punished for the report credited to the Channels Television in the circumstance.”
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