Anxiety has heightened in the police over the implementation of a new promotion policy that bars the rank and file who are 40 years old and above from being promoted beyond the rank of inspector.Skip to next paragraphFileInspector-General of Police, Mike OkiroOur correspondents learnt that some of those who could be affected by the new policy were becoming increasingly worried and might consider a strike to press for the suspension of the policy.In Lagos, a random interview conducted by one of our correspondents among policemen whose ranks ranged between corporal and inspector, showed that seven out of every 10 were above 40 years.One of the policemen attached to Area “G” Command, Ogba, (a sergeant) bitterly complained about the new promotion policy and said, “These people will never do anything that will benefit the poor man; what else do they want us to do?“I have served in the police for over 20 years. Look at me, I am still a sergeant and I am above 40 years; does that mean I will never get any promotion till I leave the police?”Some policemen at a roadblock on a major highway in the South-South zone told one of our correspondents on Tuesday that most of them would soon be flushed out of the service because of the age barrier.The policemen, who identified our correspondent through a sticker of the Nigeria Union of Journalists displayed on his car, flagged him down at the check point and politely asked him to park.Instead of asking for particulars of the car, the policemen complained about their deplorable condition of service.Visibly despondent, the five policemen narrated how they had been working under the rain and the sun for years with very little to show and added that instead of being rewarded, some of them would soon be sent away.They said a signal had been received from the Force Headquarters ordering the state commands to implement the new policy that would stagnate all rank and file from age 40.The following conversation ensued between one of the policemen and our correspondent:“Old boy, you are a journalist. You people are not writing about what is happening in the police. You only write about the bad things.Why, we don’t write bad things about the police. Besides, we cannot write bad things about our friends. The police are our friends.That one is grammar. We know that people don‘t like us, so stop talking about friends or enemies. That is not our problem.What is the problem then?The IG has sent signals to all the commands directing that all of us who are 40 years old in the rank and file should not be promoted again. We learnt that they would keep us in the same rank for some time and later retire us from the service.Why would they do such a thing?We heard that they want to bring in graduates and OND holders to take over. I have served the police for 23 years and have only been promoted sergeant. I don‘t have a house and my children are very young. I wonder how I will train them if I am stagnated and later flushed from the police. This is the only job I know how to do. Go and write and tell them not to sack us.”But when contacted, the Commissioner, Rivers State Police Command, Mr. Bala Hassan, denied the claim.Hassan said there was no intention by the police authorities to stagnate or disengage policemen in the country.Although he agreed that a new promotion policy might be in the offing, he disagreed with the view that the rank and file who are above 40 years would be stagnated and later sacked from the service.Describing the rank and file as the foot soldiers of the police operations, the CP noted that it would be impossible for the service to function without them.However, our correspondents learnt that the commands were not in a hurry to make the signal public because they were still not sure of its modus operandi and workability.Police spokesman in Lagos, Mr. Frank Mba, also denied knowledge of the signal.
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