DEFENCE
Minister Inaugurates Committee to Handle Complaints Against Police Personnel

The Minister of Police Affairs, Alhaji Mohammad Dingyadi has inaugurated the Police Public Complaints Committee (PPCC) to handle complaints against police personnel in the country.Inaugurating the committee on Wednesday in Abuja, Dingyadi said the committee was a specialised institution created to deal strictly with complaints against police personnel.
He said the focus was to put in place a permanent structure that would help to effectively check civil unrest. The minister said the idea was to provide the populace with opportunity to channel their grievances on the misconduct of police personnel to the appropriate quarters for necessary actions. He said thar PPCC had been in existence over the years but had been moribund due to lack of funds.According to him, if the PPC has been active, it would have provided adequate channel through which affected Nigerians would have been ventilating their grievances on police brutality. He said the tragedy that befell the country during the #ENDSARS protest would have been averted if the PPCC was active. Dingyadi said the Federal Government “is determined to ensure that such ugly incidents would never occur again.“The Public Complaints Commission deals generally with all kinds of complaints against administrative injustices by public institutions. “The PPCC is created as a specialised institution to deal strictly with complaints against police personnel”. He said the composition of the committee with the Ministry of Police Affairs as chairman, had the Police Service Commission, Ministry of Justice, the National Human Rights Commission and the National Intelligence Agency as members. Other members of the committee included the CLEEN Foundation, a non-governmental organisation, the Nigeria Police, Police Community Relations Committee and the Department of State Services with the Police Inspectorate Department to serve as secretariat.According to him, the overriding objective of PPCC is to serve as an institution that has oversight on activities of police personnel viz-a-viz their interaction with the public.He said the habit of the public lodging complaints against police personnel at police stations had not given the desired solutions to aggrieved Nigerians.The minister urged the committee to work assiduously in a transparent manner to give confidence to Nigerians that their complaints would be treated by a fair, just and equitable system. (NAN)
DEFENCE
Zulum Offers N5m Each to Families of 8 Slained CJTF Members

Gov. Babagana Zulum of Borno has donated N5 million each to the families of eight members of Civilian Joint Task Force ( CJTF) who recently died in an explosion on the Dikwa to Marte road.
Zulum who made this known on Friday during a condolence visit to the families of deceased in Maiduguri, also granted scholarship to their children.
The Civilian CJTF is a volunteer security group that supports military operations against insurgents in Borno State and other parts of the North-East.
” I want to announce a financial assistance of N5 million to each of the bereaved families to cater for their immediate needs.
” Furthermore, the Borno Government will provide full educational scholarship to all children of the deceased CJTF members.
” For those who left no children, we shall extend assistance to their close family members,” he said.
The governor said the gesture was part of his administration’s commitment to assisting the families of security personnel and members of the CJTF who paid the supreme price of defending his people
Zulum described the deceased as martyrs who made the ultimate sacrifice in defence of their communities and assured that their bravery would always be remembered.
He prayed for the repose of their souls of the deceased and urged the bereaved families to take solace in the heroic legacy left behind by their loved ones.
The CJTF operatives died on Tuesday after they ran into an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in the area.(NAN)
DEFENCE
Police Nab 5 Suspected Cultists, Recover Firearms in A’Ibom

The Police Command in Akwa Ibom says it has arrested five suspected cultists and recovered firearms at Ibesikpo Asutan area of the state.
DSP Timfon John, the Police Public Relations Officer, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday in Uyo.
John said the arrests took place at the cultists’ hideout in Ikot Etuk village, Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government Area on Wednesday.
She said that the operatives of the command, based on credible information, arrested the cultists.
John said that during the operation, operatives recovered one locally made pistol, one fabricated single-barrel gun and assorted charms.
According to her, the suspects have voluntarily provided useful information to the police regarding their criminal activities.
“This includes their involvement in a recent attack on Fulani herdsmen, which resulted in the killing of two cows.
“The stolen cows were reportedly shared among various cult groups within Ibesikpo Asutan,” she said.
John said that efforts were currently underway to apprehend other fleeing gang members and recover their operational weapons.
The spokesman further said the developments would be communicated to the public as they unfold. (NAN)
DEFENCE
Police Arrest 4 Suspects, Recover Stolen Property in A’Ibom

The Police Command in Akwa Ibom said it had arrested four suspected criminals in Udi Street in Uyo and recovered numerous stolen items.
DSP Timfon John, the Command’s Public Relations Officer said this in a statement in Uyo on Monday.
John said that the suspects were arrested base on credible intelligence and in compliance with the Commissioner of Police, CP Baba Azare’s directive.
She said that an operation which was inaugurated last Friday at exactly 1:15 a.
m., led to the arrest of the four suspects.”In a significant intelligence-led operation, operatives of the command raided a location in Udi Street, leading to the arrest of two individuals and the recovery of numerous stolen items.
The raid also resulted in the arrest of another two suspected receivers of stolen property,” she explained.
The command’s image maker said that exhibit including 14 sewing machine heads and a generator were recovered from the suspects.
According to her, two complainants have come forward and identified their stolen machines among the recovered items.
She added that investigation into the matter was ongoing. (NAN)