A coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs) under the auspices of the Transparency Watch Initiative (TWI) has commended Kayode Egbetokun, the inspector-general of police, for withdrawing officers assigned to the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission.
On Friday, the Kano police command recalled police officers attached to the state anti-graft agency “with a view to conducting a staff audit aimed at ascertaining the exact number of police officers seconded to the commission”.
Muhuyi Magaji, the commission’s chairman, described the withdrawal of the police officers as a case of corruption fighting back.
But in a statement on Sunday, Kolawole Anthony, president of TWI, described the action as timely and necessary to avoid the breakdown of law and order.
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The coalition also condemned the “use of state resources to persecute” perceived enemies in Kano.
The coalition alleged that the state anti-corruption agency is one of the tools to fight people and security personnel found themselves in the middle of the crossfire.
The group added that the idea of state policing could be faulty, saying officers under their control could be used for political or personal gain and compromise human rights and security.
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“We welcome the news of IGP Egbetokun’s decision to withdraw police officers attached to the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission with great excitement,” the coalition said.
“This is not only timely but necessary to avoid further breakdown of law and order in the state. As we all know, Kano is very volatile.
“The police officers were reportedly being used to do biddings under the guise of a probe. That is why so many questions have been raised about state policing.
“We want to commend the IGP for this bold decision and urge the Federal Government to take a second look at state policing.”
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