Police College: Cesspit of corruption, President’s visit may lead to more money in private pockets - Trainees

There are strong indications that the impromptu visit to the Police College, Ikeja by President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday may result in the voting of more funds to the College by the Federal government. However there are also fears that the bulk of the funds may end up in private pockets if measures are not put in place to combat corruption which has brought the institution to its present sorry and unenviable state. Investigations by ionigeria.com revealed that the Police College Ikeja, is a cesspool of corruption where even recruits undergoing training are constantly ripped-off of their meagre allowances and unabashedly exposed to fraudulent practices. In the words of one of the trainees in the institution, "The Police College is where the foundation for corruption in the police is laid".

While commending the unscheduled nature of the visit, a Police corporal who was trained at the College told ionigeria.com that "corruption in the Police Force starts from the college. Let me just let you know, that the authorities at the college and those directly supervising the college will be very happy now. They know that more money will now be voted for the college. I bet you, at least 60 percent of the money will end up in their pockets".

Continuing, he said, "Trainees pay for mattresses, bed sheets, training vests, canvass etc. These things are provided by government and are supposed to be given to trainees free of charge but the authorities in the college use them to extort money from trainees. If government is serious about fighting corruption, it has to start from the Police College because that is the first place that recruits are vividly exposed to corruption"

He further revealed "that allowances approved by government to be paid to trainees are not paid in full. You sign for a particular amount but what you are given immediately you finished signing will be different. For example, there was a time we signed that we were each paid N8, 000 accumulated allowances but the real money we got was N2, 000 each. If you refuse to collect, they will bring a trumped-up allegation against you and show you the way out of the college. You know that there are no jobs in the country".

In conclusion, he said, "it is not just enough for the President to pay one unscheduled visit to the College, he should put in place a mechanism through which correct intelligence information will be getting to him, not just about the Police college  but also in other areas of government"

Also, one of the recruits or students of the College, discreetly spoken to by ionigeria.com few hours after the President had left, bemoaned the inability of the President to interact with the trainees. "It is not just about the poor state of facilities, there are other issues begging for government attention. Why is it that Nigerians in military training schools do not pay for anything whereas in this Police College, we pay for virtually everything? The things that government has given to them to give to us, they deduct money from our allowances before they give to us. Our dormitories, kitchen and toilets are the way they are because of corruption".

"My brother, from what I am seeing here, corruption will not end in the Police. They are just teaching us that corruption pays, to even gain admission to this school, you have to drop something to some people", he added.

Similarly, Isaiah Pam, a civil servant in Plateau State who is on a visit to Lagos said, "Top government officials especially the President and governors need to cultivate the habit of paying unscheduled visits to on-going government projects and facilities to know what is going on. Many senior civil servants and politicians don't give them the true situation. They keep telling them that all is well when all is not well"

While also commending Channels TV for exposing the rot in the College, Pam urged the Nigerian media to beam their searchlights into other sectors so that those in government can know what is really happening.

Ionigeria.com also made fruitful effort to get the reaction of the Police Authorities. In a telephone interview the Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Frank Mba said that the visit of the President to the College is one of the best, if not the best thing to have happened to the Nigerian Police Force.

“Since the College was established, no seating President until yesterday had visited it. It shows how committed President Jonathan is to the issue of security”

I believe that the visit will help draw attention to the College and will impact positively on the fortunes of the trainees, the college and the Nigeria Police Force”.

Asked to comment on the issues of corruption in the College, he said, “It is pretty difficult for me to comment on the allegations because I need to investigate them”.

Also asked if the deplorable state of the facilities at the College was as a result of corruption or poor allocation of resources.

He said, “It is difficult for me to explain why the school is in that state. However, it is not what started today. It did not start during the tenure of the present Inspector General of Police or President Goodluck Jonathan. In fact, most of the issues that President Jonathan is dealing with today precede his regime”
ioNigeria.com