The Commissioner of Police, Rivers State Command, Suleiman Abbah, has said that his command has banned the use of policemen and officers by various taskforce groups in the state in the collection of taxes and other forms of revenue.

Making this known in his speech at the 2011 Police Community Relations  Committee (PCRC) opening ceremony for the year at the Police Officers Mess in Port Harcourt, the commissioner noted that several reports have reached him on some policemen’s illegal activities with tax/revenue agents.

He said, “I have banned policemen from being attached to taskforces or tax and revenue collectors.

There is already a standing committee in the C.I.E to identify those that are involved, and I plead with the public to identify and report such taskforce/policemen attached to them or call the police control numbers like 08032003514. 08073777717 for prompt action.”

According to the police boss, the Ministry of Transport and that of Environment have informed him that those taskforces are illegal.

On the collection of money from drivers on the roads, the commissioner posited that there will be no result if the fight against corruption  did not start from the top, pointing out that he is pleased with the moves by the present Inspector General of Police towards tackling the menace.

Abbah stated further that he has made it clear to all the  Divisional Police Officers not to make any returns to him, which also explains that the DPOs themselves are not to demand for returns any more from the men on the road.

He said that in a short while, the result will be obvious  with respect to extortion from motorists, because the command will soon descend heavily on those officers that man the roads.

The commissioner described the PCRS as a veritable body for police and community partnership towards solving problems relating to safety of the community, adding that security is every body’s problem, and that there is a lot of benefits for partnering with the community for effective information and proper policing.

Earlier in his speech, the chairman of the PCRC Rivers State, Austin E. Young, said one major problem his administration has discovered and is tackling in the last one year of coming on board was the issue of distrust among officers and PCRC members, but noted that the police alone can not do the work effectively with out partnership with the community.

The Chairman also said that the month of March 2011 will be declared for campaign for free, fair and violent-free election, and urged leaders to ensure safety in their communities.

Corlins Walter