Not ideal to carry out stop, search operation in mufti

The Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiiwa Adejobi has declared that officers on stop and search duties must be in uniform with their names properly attached.

He stated this in a post on his official X handle on Monday in response to the viral video, circulating on social media, where four self-appointed policemen in mufti stopped a driver on Lekki-Epe Expressway.

The ‘policemen’ had flagged down the driver to request his tinted permit, a request that appeared suspicious, prompting the driver to demand their identities and confirm they were really officers.

However, Adejobi said the Nigeria Police Force had ordered that any policeman embarking on routine patrol or stop-and-search must be in uniform, properly dressed, and easily identified.

He also informed that the ‘policemen’ have been traced to zone 2 and that the AIG of the zone has commenced an investigation into the matter.

The post reads: “You will recall that we have ordered and announced that any policeman embarking on routine patrol or stop and search must be in uniform, properly dressed, and easily identified. It’s not ideal to carry out a stop and search in mufti.

“The audacity to misbehave or carry out unprofessional conduct comes when you know your identity is hidden and unknown. I still reiterate that policemen on stop and search and routine patrol must be in uniform. That is the standard in the police.

“Policemen in mufti are supposed to be on surveillance or undercover and not to be seen with long-range guns or rifles.

“This is what our DPOs and HODs should emphasise and enforce to bring sanity and standardisation.”