The Nigeria Police Force has clarified that the Constabularies who staged a protest in Ilorin, Kwara state, recently, over the non-payment of their salary by the state government, were not personnel of the Force.

Recall that about 1,056 Constabularies who were clad in black Police uniforms, had their bodies covered with leaves as they marched on the streets of Ilorin.

They complained that they had not been paid any salary by the state government since the completion of their training in April 2021.

But the Police Force Relations Officer, CSP Muyiwa Adejobi, described the protest as a rude shock, explaining that the protesters were Community Policing Constables, rendering voluntary services in their respective communities.

He said, “The Nigeria Police wishes to state unequivocally that the community policing constabulary scheme of the Force, a purely voluntary service was created by the Federal Government to train and integrate individuals with prior skill employment, who desire to use their spare time to assist the Police with simple police tasks in their various communities.

“It, therefore, became a rude shock that members of the scheme were protesting none payment of salaries in Kwara state recently, when the ultimate purpose and rules of engagement for the scheme is to promote community partnership in crime control via the presence of respected members of the public with a source of livelihood, to partner with the force under the scheme to render voluntary service for better and improved policing within their communities.

“The scheme clearly states the roles of the Police Community Constables who are not direct employees or personnel of the Police but of their respective communities at both divisional and state levels to include: assisting the police in crime detection and prevention, conflict resolution, intelligence gathering and dissemination to local Police commanders.

“ Other roles include: “maintenance of law and order, deployment to compliment conventional police officers on patrolling their command public space, advising the public on their safety, crime prevention and security tips, dealing with criminal offences and social vices, work with relevant stakeholders on crime control and traffic management as road safety duties.

“The Nigeria Police Force re-emphasises the fact that the scheme is voluntary and no payment was agreed with individuals under the scheme, neither were their terms of employment discussed prior to its commencement.

“Subsequently, considering the fact that a protest for payment was staged when there was no basis for such is mischievous and preconceived. The force, however, will be taking adequate measures to review the effectiveness of the scheme as soon as possible”, Adejobi stated.