The Nigeria Police Force has warned Nigerians against paying money to secure bail for themselves or their relatives, declaring that both those who offer and those who collect such payments risk arrest and prosecution.
The Head of the Complaint Response Unit (CRU) at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, Awuf Jonah, gave the warning on Friday during a sensitisation rally in Lagos aimed at educating residents on how to report police misconduct and seek redress.
Jonah said police bail was free and that no individual was required to pay money to secure the release of an arrested person on bail.
He said the Inspector General of Police, Olatunji Disu, had repeatedly directed that members of the public should not be charged for bail, warning that anyone involved in illegal payments would face the consequences.
According to him, the campaign was part of efforts to promote accountability, discourage extortion and rebuild public confidence in the police.
The rally was organised by the CRU in partnership with the Eagle Crime Awareness and Prevention Initiative (ECAPI). It commenced at the Lagos State Police Command headquarters in Ikeja and featured roadshows, market outreach, the distribution of information materials and demonstrations of the unit’s complaint reporting platforms.
Jonah described the partnership as a significant step towards restoring public trust in the police, noting that increased awareness had encouraged more residents to report misconduct by police officers.
He explained that complaints received by the unit were investigated and that officers found culpable were subjected to appropriate disciplinary measures.
He said the initiative had contributed to improved accountability within the force, adding that members of the public were increasingly approaching the unit’s offices, using its communication channels and submitting petitions against officers accused of misconduct.
Jonah urged residents to sustain their cooperation with the police, stressing that public participation was essential to building a more accountable and responsive security system.
He provided the CRU contact numbers as 08057000101 and 08057000102 for telephone calls, while 08057000103 could be used to submit complaints through WhatsApp.
Speaking at the flag-off ceremony, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Anthony Placid, who represented the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Tijani, said the initiative would strengthen cooperation between the police and communities.
He noted that collaboration, intelligence sharing and efforts to ease tensions in communities were important to improving security and maintaining public confidence in law enforcement.
Placid commended the CRU and ECAPI for their partnership, expressing optimism that the campaign would encourage greater engagement between residents and the police.
In his remarks, the coordinator of ECAPI, Eniola Adam, said the campaign was designed to educate Nigerians about police brutality, extortion and their rights when dealing with law enforcement officers.
Adam said the organisation would extend the sensitisation exercise to communities and marketplaces to ensure that residents, particularly those at the grassroots, understood how to report misconduct.
He added that the rally marked the beginning of a sustained campaign that would take the message to different communities and encourage residents to speak out against abuse of power.
