Senior Special Assistant to the Kwara State Governor, Abdulgafar Abiola, has met with the state police Commissioner, CP Paul Odama.
Abiola disclosed this via his Facebook page on Tuesday April 4, 2023.
According to Abiola, the meeting became necessary and it was consequent upon the complaints received from the youth and the good people of Kwara State.
“I took further steps to ensure that the issue of police brutality becomes history in Kwara State,” he said.
He added, “I had a profitable meeting with the Commissioner of Police of our dear State CP Paul Odama psc+ together with some youth leaders, and the subject matter of our discussion was centered on the complaints of the youths about police brutality and other incidental matters.
“The commissioner of police expressed his passion for upholding the rule of law and respect for the rights of the youths and the people of Kwara State. Hence, to manifest his passion for upholding the rule of law, the Commissioner issued an operational instruction to Police Officers within the State to stop searching peoples’ phones.”
The SSA noted that the anti-robbery and anti-cultism sections of the police will be actively engaged to ensure that the issue of cultism and robbery in any part of Kwara State is curtailed.
“The law has empowered the police to take every reasonable step to detect crime. By so doing, when police stop your car to search, you are required to cooperate with them and allow them to do their statutory duty, in so far as they didn’t request to search your phone.
“If any police officer requests to search your phone, you don’t have to taunt or ridicule such an officer, but rather contact the Police Public Relation Officer (PPRO) of Kwara State SP Okansanmi Ajayi on this number 08032365122. This is in addition to the numbers I gave out during my last statement.
“Please, [rest] assured that the police is your friend, refrain from any action that can cast aspersions on the Police while on duty as they have been instructed to respect the fact that your phone is your personal property.
“We appreciate the Commissioner of Police of Kwara State for making great on-the-spot effort towards putting an end to police brutality in Kwara State.”
