Enugu Commissioner of Police, Mammam Bitrus Giwa (middle) and other dignitaries at the event
By Tony Adibe
The Enugu State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Mammam Bitrus Giwa has again warned policemen under his Command against all manner of misconduct, particularly extortion, harassment of law-abiding people.
He re-emphasised that any personnel caught in any kind of indiscipline would be made to “see the other side of me”, by being dealt with decisively.
“I don’t speak from two sides of the mouth. I have warned them seriously to desist from any form of extortion. I don’t need a kobo from them and woo betide any one caught extorting from the people, collecting money illegally,” he said.
Giwa stated this during a Town-Hall meeting with stakeholders organized as part of the maiden edition of the National Police Day 2025 held at Sports Club, Enugu on Thursday.
NewsBits reports that the maiden edition themed: “The Police And The Community: Pathways To Strengthening Partnerships For Enhanced Security in Enugu State,” which was meant to celebrate the Nigeria Police and receive feedback from the people.
The Town-Hall meeting was well attended by heads of security agencies, human rights bodies, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), market leaders, students’ unions, and traditional rulers as well as religious leaders.
Addressing the gathering, Giwa reiterated that he does not tolerate corruption and extortion, insisting that he would deal with any officer caught extorting from the people or collecting illegal tolls.
He said: “When I reported here, within 24 hours, I held a meeting with them, that I don’t want to hear any negative stories about them. I made it clear to them that when you do your job well, you will be appreciated but if you extort there is no way you will be appreciated.”
He said that during the first meeting he had with his officers and men, he made it clear to them that he would hold Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) accountable of any misbehaviour by the officers and men.
Giwa said he would send any policeman who extorted civilians to “harsh areas where they will not see anybody to extort,” stressing that, “whenever I say something, I mean it, and I will implement it very well. I don’t talk from both sides of the mouth.”
The Commissioner of Police, however, was particularly reacting to the panel that organized the discussion at the event. He explained that since he came into office, the Command has been fighting crimes and criminalities, especially kidnapping, adding that many kidnappers have been caught.
He advised Enugu people to support the police to fight crimes, asking: “If the communities do not play their role, how can we operate?”
According to him, much as certain people hold the erroneous notion that “police is bad”, he insisted that “not all police men are bad. It is not every police officer who is bad.”
On the alleged indiscriminate searching of citizens’ telephones by the police, a complaint that was specifically made by the leader of the students’ unions, Giwa, also advised the citizens of the state to always insist on the position of the Inspector General of Police on the searching of private phones.
Giwa, however, explained that citizens should also know that there are conditions where phones can be searched but maintained that it is not on the road. “No police man in Enugu should search any traveler’s phone on the road. The Inspector General of Police has spoken on the matter several times,” Giwa said.
On the relevance of the Town Hall meeting, Giwa said that, were it possible, he would prefer to organise the Town-Hall meeting every month to enable him to feel the pulse of the people in order to get feedback from them.
He lauded Governor Peter Mbah who, he said, has done a lot to check insecurity in the state to the extent of procuring operational vehicles, the building of the Command-and-Control Centre (CCC) equipped with modern security gadgets, which facilitate monitoring of the vicinity against crime.
Governor Mbah, represented at the occasion by the Commissioner for Special Duties, Sunday Emeka Ajogu, said that he priorities security to make sure that the state is secure for everyone.
He said that though they had done a lot in the area of security but noted that they “were not there yet” and appealed to all to cooperate with the government and security agencies to make Enugu safe for every law-abiding individual.
In his remarks, the Enugu State chairman of the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC), Bright Alabribe called on the youths of Enugu State to “comb the forest to ensure that bad eggs are not lurking there to carry out their nefarious activities.”
Alabribe said security was everybody’s business and therefore should not be left with the security agencies alone. He reiterated his suggestion that the youths “should comb the forests to drive away criminal elements.”
Meanwhile, the Head of Hausa Community in the state, Sarki Yusuf Sambo said that they have discussed with Miyetti Allah to ensure that farmers are not molested by their members so that farmers can feel free to go to the farms.
Sambo said: “We are doing a lot and we collaborate with the local vigilantes to make sure that law-abiding people and their properties are secured; to make sure that farmers can go to their farms and do their farming without harassment.”
