THE Nigeria Police should be proud of one of its own-Constable Leslie Adamu who at a time when the police is heavily regarded as a centre of graft and dishonesty at all levels, demonstrated such integrity and strength of character that is worthy of commendation. Adamu, a constable with the Yobe State Police Command, had gone to the bank to withdraw his monthly salary of N26, 400 from an Automated Teller Machine (ATM).
The machine overpaid him by N9,000, the receipt printed by the machine did not so indicate, he only discovered this when he got home; and thus there was no record of the excess payment. If Adamu had chosen to keep the excess N9,000, it would have remained a secret known to him alone.
He clearly had a choice in the matter, and he chose to return the excess cash to the bank, First Bank, through the police pay office in Damaturu. Adamu said he took the step “with the strong belief that it is unfair to keep the money that is not mine.” In a country where the average policeman is regarded as corrupt, Adamu’s conduct is exemplary and worthy of emulation both by his colleagues and the general public.
Under similar circumstances, some other Nigerians would have kept the money, seeing it as a “gift from Heaven”, or an answer to their prayers. They may in addition justify their conduct on the grounds of urgent personal needs in the face of the many challenges in the Nigerian society including mass poverty, unemployment and misgovernance.
But in no way should these at any time become an excuse for dishonesty. Adamu’s disciplined conduct should send positive signals to the young ones who are unfortunately already being exposed to a morally deficient culture. “It is unfair to keep the money that is not mine,” he said. How different Nigeria would be if only corrupt public officials would stop keeping money that is not theirs.
Adamu’s honesty may well be viewed against the background of a recent damning report by the United States-based Human Rights Watch titled “Everyone in the Game: Corruption and Human Rights Abuses by the Nigeria Police” in which the Nigeria Police is portrayed as a corrupt institution. The report states the obvious; its submissions are incontrovertible. Indeed, there have been many cases of police corruption, the most notorious being the routine extortion of money from passers-by and motorists either at police stations or at checkpoints on the roads. In the light of this, the example of a policeman who would be honest enough as to return money that is mistakenly paid to him would be considered most unusual. But Adamu has just proven that he is not “in the game.”
There may be others like him; the challenge is to increase his kind in the Police Force. The usual complaint is that policemen are poorly paid, they are not well motivated, they lack basic equipment and their salaries are not paid on time. All of these shortcomings need to be addressed. But much closer attention should be paid to recruitment and training.
The police recruitment process is suspect and has been faulted on every occasion. Standards would have to be raised. The extant system of recruitment that admits street urchins, near-illiterates and persons who are only interested in self-enrichment should be reviewed. There is a shortage of manpower in the Police, no doubt; still, only persons who are fit for the job, physically, mentally and morally should be recruited. What this means is that the recruitment process must become more rigorous.
There should also be routine staff audit to get rid of bad eggs within the system, and to reward honest ones like Leslie Adamu whose good deeds project the image of the institution positively. There can be no alternative however to continuous training and re-training of policemen at both the senior and junior cadres. It is through constant training that the institution can hope to ensure best practices, provide needed exposure and enhance staff capacity.
http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=22158:constable-adamus-exemplary-conduct&catid=37:editorial&Itemid=612

For once something good has come out of the Nigerian Police Force. The guy should be commended

omamokta:

For once something good has come out of the Nigerian Police Force. The guy should be commended

Not for once. There are a lot of good Police men who do great work but they go unreported a lot, we like to hear and comment on Bad news about the police. if this topic was something negative about the police, it will have been 10 pages long

aisha2:

Not for once. There are a lot of good Police men who do great work but they go unreported a lot, we like to hear and comment on Bad news about the police. if this topic was something negative about the police, it will have been 10 pages long

I disagree. I don't believe it is that clear cut. I have personally not had any bad experience with Nigeria police myself so I find it hard to comment when there is bad news about police conduct, however, I do know a lot, not a few, but a lot of people have had FIRST HAND BAD EXPERIENCE with members of the force and it is easier for them to relate when others speak of their bad experience and all.

@kobojun:welcome back,missd u.

If every Police Office returned overpayments; rejected bribes; do not assault citizens; and got paid a decent wage, WHAT AN EXEMPLARY POLICE FORCE THAT WOULD BE!

God bless the real Nigerian Police Force (Our Constable Adamus)! Amen!