UN Mission: 11 Police Officers Dismissed over Sexual Misconduct

From Funmi Peter-Omale 
November 24, 2005
This Day Online
Original Source: http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=34187

Eleven indicted police officers and men under Nigeria Police Force Unit (FPU) serving with the United Nations Mission in Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) have been dismissed from the force.
The Inspector General of Police, Mr. Sunday Ehindero, disclosed this yesterday.
The United Nations Mission last August commenced investigations of allegations of sexual misconduct levelled against 19 members of the Nigerian contingent.
Following the allegations, 120 policemen comprising 110 men and 10 women were repatriated after barely two months in DRC.
But addressing retired police officers under the auspices of Association of Retired Police Officers in Nigeria (ARPON) in Abuja yesterday,  Ehindero said “after their withdrawal, government said they wanted further action on the matter, so we dismissed the 11 indicted officers while the others were suspended. Those in the mobile were demobilised and we have decided that none of them would ever go out of the country on peace mission again.”
He reiterated his administration’s zero tolerance to any form of corruption, outlining some of his achievement in office since he resumed January 18, this year.  “This administration has taken far reaching measures since its inception to turn things around through strengthening, reorganising and restructuring as well as re-equipping of the Police. I rolled out a ten point programme which is aimed at strengthening operational capacity and capability of the Force,” he affirmed.
He stressed that he invited retired Police officers to a meeting on the “State of the nation” because he was convinced that they could bring in their wealth of knowledge and experience to bear on what is happening in the country today, especially in the area of security, maintaining peace and order.
Beside tapping from your acquired experience while in the Nigeria Police, we are still looking forward to gaining a lot from your lives after retirement. I am fortified in my view because the challenges and tasks that are presently confronting us in the course of policing this great nation must have at one time or the other been dealt with by some, if not all of you. 
He told them that one of the challenges facing them as retirees is their pension noting that there was need for them to cooperate and canvass for improvement, provision of adequate fund and regular update commensurate to recent trends.
Those at the meeting include former Inspectors General of Police Obong Etim Inyang, Alhaji Muhammad Gambo,  Mr. MAK Smith; as well as Mr. Fidelis Oyakhilome, Mr Harry Osayande and Senator Nuhu Aliyu, Alhaji Mamman Danmadani represented Mr. Sunday Adewusi.