A Benin based lawyer, Olayiwola Afolabi, SAN, has appealed to the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Kayode Egbetokun, to reconsider the recent mass transfer of police personnel, saying that the exercise has separated families especially those who are married to fellow policemen and women.
Besides, he called on the police leadership to take up the challenge of housing for police personnel with the Federal Ministry of Housing to check the accommodation crisis confronting the Force.
Afolabi in a letter to the IGP dated February 9, 2024, which was made available to journalists in Benin, said he wrote the letter as a friend of the police and human rights activist.
He said: “While we have no problem with the mass transfers which is normal in the police force, our concern is on behalf of those married police officers who are even married to police officers as well.
“We quite believe that you will find time to reconsider those female officers who are equally married to male police officers that their children will not suffer because, in a situation where the two officers are transferred out of their station, their children will suffer as we have seen in Edo State and Rivers State.
“Apart from the above, police authorities should consider taking up the issue of housing for police officers with the Federal Ministry of Housing the issue of accommodation for police officers because you will find out that accommodation is not provided for those officers who are being transferred to new stations.
“In this regard, we plead passionately that you kindly reconsider this issue with a view of taking sta”tistics of those female officers involved”.
