Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, has warned against killing of innocent and unarmed persons which has become regular occurrence in Lagos State since the beginning of the year.
Adamu said this on Monday when he paid the Command a visit at the Police College, Ikeja.
Since the turn of the year, there have been cases of extra-judicial killings of innocent citizens by police officers, notable among them is the killing of a teenage schoolgirl in March at Ikorodu area.
On March 31, the nation was drawn to the killing of a football fan, Kolade Johnson, by police officers at Onipetesi area.
The latest killing occurred on Saturday when a 20-year-old woman, Ada Ifeanyi, was murdered by the police in Ajegunle area of Lagos.
Adamu said he had to visit Lagos sooner, despite his visit being scheduled for later in the year, because of the growing cases of extra-judicial killings.
He said: “From January to April, 2019, Lagos State has recorded four incidents of misuse of firearms which have resulted in extra-judicial killings of young citizens of this country and injury to others.
‘’More worrisome is that two of these incidents occurred within the last two weeks. “Aside negating our professional calling, extra-judicial acts of any description or level by any police personnel is an unacceptable anomaly that creates disdain between the citizens and their police and widen the trust gap between them.”
He added that non-lethal weapons would soon be introduced for routine patrols in order to reduce incidents of “fatalities associated with misapplication of lethal weapons by the police.”
“In perfecting these initiatives,” Adamu said, “we shall be engaging with Human Rights Bodies, International Agencies, Development Partners and Civil Society Organisations.”
