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The Nigeria Police Force, NPF, and the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, on Tuesday appealed to Nigerians to stop offering their officers bribes, urging the public to report any officer who demands a bribe.
The two agencies made the appeal during a one-day virtual stakeholder dialogue on “effective and sustainable strategies for curbing retail corruption” organised by the Presidential Advisory Committee against Corruption, PACAC, and reported by The Nation.
In his presentation, a Deputy Commissioner of Police, Olaolu Adegbite, of the Force Intelligence Bureau, urged Nigerians to report infractions by officers and men to the X-Squad, the Inspector-General of Police Monitoring Unit and the Police Complaint Response Unit, PCRU.
“The X-Squad monitors unethical conduct. Citizens can approach the squad with information.
“The IG Monitoring Unit also conducts sting operations and arrests officers in the field and makes recoveries. Citizens must provide support through evidence.
“Citizens should stop the act of offering bribe and gratification, which is a crime under the Criminal Code,” he said.
On his part, a senior FRSC official, Ntukidem Godwin, said the Corps has deployed technology through body cameras to monitor officers’ field activities in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, adding that there are plans to replicate it in other states.
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He said Nigerians who comply with traffic rules do not have a reason to offer a bribe to road safety officers.
“Don’t commit traffic violations and don’t offer our officers bribe. Don’t tempt us with bribe so that we can let you go,” he said.
Mr Godwin added that some members of the public who make reports hardly present evidence, which makes it difficult to sanction erring officers.
Earlier, the PACAC Executive Secretary, Prof. Sadiq Radda, said citizens have a critical role to play in ending petty (retail) corruption, most of which occur in form of bribery.
He believes retail corruption can be reduced when citizens are law-abiding and comply with the rules, and when institutions play their roles effectively.
“Cutting corners is why we have retail corruption. There are processes for getting things done. We should have respect for process and procedures,” he said.
Mr Radda called for the deployment of technology to automate the processes that are prone to abuse.
He added that government agencies have a duty to provide quality and efficient service delivery to achieve a system where average Nigerians would not need to cut corners or get frustrated.
