As curtain falls on year, hundreds of police officers across the country have cried out over six months unpaid salaries, according to Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC).

This was as the centre adopted of the Head, Complaints Response Unit (CRU) of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Markus Basiran, as Police Officer of the Year.

The Executive Director of RULAAC, Okechukwu Nwanguma, disclosed to The Guardian, yesterday, that the officers were inundating him with calls to appeal to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Baba, over their plight.

“RULAAC has received hundreds of calls and appeals from distraught police officers, asking us to appeal to the IGP to pay them arrears of six months salaries. I am dumbfounded,” he said, wondering how corruption could be stopped among hungry workers.

“Apart from owing them salaries, some officers, after being promoted, continue to be paid salaries based on their previous ranks for months. Some people in the system are pocketing the money due to officers. The corruption in the system takes many dimensions,” Nwanguma added.

MEANWHILE, RULAAC has commended the leadership of the CRU for commitment to the enforcement of discipline and checking police human rights violations and misconduct.

So, it adopted Basiran, a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), as the country’s Police Officer of the Year for his determination, commitment and consistency in promoting police discipline and accountability as Head of CRU.

According to the centre, there is need to strengthen police internal control systems and external oversight and accountability mechanisms put in place to ensure law enforcement discipline and conformity with professional standards. 

It stated: “This year, the CRU, in partnership with RULAAC and with support from McArthur Foundation, for the first time since its inception in 2015, published its quarterly reports for 2021 and part of 2022 showing the numbers of complaints received, police officers disciplined for various acts of misconduct and amount of extorted money recovered from corrupt police officers. That report attracted a newspaper editorial.

“The CRU has performed with sheer determination by its personnel without funds and support from the police management. It has relied almost entirely on external support. The NPF must support the CRU as a tool to entrench discipline and combat impunity for police misconduct.”