By Evelyn Usman

LAGOS — Acting Inspector General of Police, Mr Solomon Arase, weekend, warned policemen to desist from criminalising civil and commercial cases, charging them to restrict their intervention in any matter to Alternative Dispute Resolution, ADR, pattern of investigation. This is just as he has directed the withdrawal of policemen from unauthorised persons in the country.

Handing down the warning during his maiden briefing of officers and men of the Lagos and Ogun States Police Commands at the Lagos State Police Command Headquarters, Ikeja, Arase reminded them of his zero tolerance for corruption, insisting that acts of arresting and subsequent detention of anyone must be done after discreet investigation with sufficient evidence.

Urging the policemen to adopt human right driven policing during investigation, Arase directed that abuse of police power through unauthorised detention, long trial and incivility to members of the public should stop henceforth, pointing out that such would hamper intelligence gathering. He said: “I am allergic to corruption. I have a zero tolerance for it and I will not tolerate it.

One area where I have had serious problem is in the area of criminalising civil and commercial transactions. If a matter is civil, then it should be treated as such and if it is commercial, its commercial. If you cannot intervene and resolve both parties, then advise them to go to court. “This means that before you arrest anyone in your various State Criminal Investigation Departments and divisional crime departments, you must have sufficient evidence.

Situation where you arrest somebody before you go looking for evidence means you have bridged his constitutional right. Our investigation has to be intelligence-driven.” Insisting that the ban on road blocks across the country would be enforced to the latter, Arase lamented that road blocks had become nuisance and points of corruption where “the dignity of the average policeman has been rubbish.”