Kayode Egbetokun, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), revealed to federal lawmakers yesterday that some police stations in the country do not have a single operational vehicle.

He made the speech while addressing National Assembly members during a debate organised by the House of Representatives to receive briefings on challenges confronting security agencies and other organs of the federal government.

Egbetokun lamented the poor welfare of police operatives and operational challenges impeding their efficiency.

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“We have 1,137 police divisional headquarters across 774 LGAs in Nigeria, but getting operational vehicles for the divisions is difficult. Each of these divisions at least require four functional vehicles, but we have divisions that don’t have any functional operational vehicle as of today,” the IGP said.

“The welfare of personnel is nothing to write home about. Funding is critcal to achieving the mandate of the Nigeria police. Unfortunately, the citizens are not interested in our excuses for underperformance. What the citizens want is performance.

“They want us to serve them. We are willing to serve them, but we need your cooperation, funding, more manpower and logistics to train our men adequately. We need to improve the welfare of our officers. We want a well-motivated workforce in the police.”

VEHICLES BEGGING TO BE USED

While it is correct that police personnel face numerous challenges, there are indications that the resources available to the Nigeria Police Force are not evenly distributed.

As Egbetokun pointed out, some divisions lack operational vehicles. However, some police facilities have so much that vehicles are wasting away.

For example, the police college located opposite the Lagos State’s Standing Tribunal of Inquiry Into Chieftaincy Matters, Ikeja, is home to some unused vehicles.

During a visit to the facility on Wednesday, our reporter observed no fewer than 19 new mini trucks close to the college’s main gate.

There were also four unused pickups on the college’s premises: two white pickups and two brown pickups. The brown ones appeared to be in poor physical condition from abandonment.

What is not hidden from plain sight is that all the vehicles have been on the same spot for long. A source told FIJ that the vehicles had been parked on the same spot for some months.

“I am not sure of when they brought them. But I am sure the vehicles have been here for some time now. I was here in April, and I saw these vehicles,” said the source, who does not want to be named.

Olumuyiwa Adejobi, the police public relations officer, did not return FIJ’s phone call and had not responded to a text message for a comment on this story as of press time.