Egbetokun: Police committed to weeding out unprofessional officers

Kayode Egbetokun, the inspector-general of police (IGP), says his leadership is committed to weeding out unprofessional officers from the force.

Speaking on Monday at a workshop organised on the standardisation of criminal investigations, Egbetokun said the revamping of the intelligence and investigation departments has started.

“Regrettably, aside from human errors, which are sometimes unavoidable, it has been observed that certain unprofessional officers have compromised the investigation department’s integrity,” the IGP said.

“These individuals mishandle cases due to incompetence or personal gain, tarnishing the force’s image and eroding public confidence.

“To address this, we are taking urgent steps to weed out unprofessional officers and strengthen our investigation and intelligence departments.”

Egbetokun said assigning officers to the criminal investigation department (CID) would strictly follow a structured mobilisation process to maintain professionalism.

“This structured approach ensures that only officers who have been vetted and adequately trained are mobilised into investigative roles,” he said.

“Demobilisation will also follow a systematic process whereby officers are withdrawn after completing their assignments to prevent the development of corrupt practices or entrenchment in certain roles.

“This approach is designed to maintain high levels of operational integrity and impartiality in criminal investigations across the force.”

The IGP said the police have kick-started plans to establish new detective colleges across the six geopolitical zones, which he noted would provide robust training programmes for investigators and private detectives.

“The expansion of detective training facilities will increase access to high-quality education in criminal investigation, contributing to the overall professionalisation of investigative services in the country,” he said.