The Cross River State Police Command has urged Nigerians to refrain from assaulting, obstructing or resisting police officers while they are carrying out their lawful duties.
The command’s Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Sunday Eitokpah, made the appeal in Calabar on Thursday while speaking with The Punch, stressing that police officers risk their lives daily to protect citizens, prevent crime and maintain public order.
Eitokpah said the police uniform represents public authority, but officers wearing it were also individuals exposed to danger while responding to emergencies and enforcing the law.
He said, “Every day, police officers leave their homes to respond to emergencies, prevent crime, protect lives and property, maintain public order and enforce the law.
“Yet, increasingly, there are disturbing instances in which officers are assaulted, obstructed or violently resisted while carrying out their duties.”
The police spokesperson noted that such actions could undermine the authority of the state, adding that Section 98 of the Police Act 2020 criminalises assaulting, obstructing or resisting a police officer in the discharge of duty.
According to him, anyone found guilty of the offence is liable to a fine of N500,000, imprisonment for six months, or both.
However, Eitokpah stressed that the call for respect for police officers should not be interpreted as a demand for immunity from accountability.
“Where a police officer is alleged to have acted unlawfully, abused his powers or violated the rights of a citizen, the appropriate response is to report the matter and pursue lawful redress through appropriate channels such as the National Human Rights Commission,” he said.
The PPRO maintained that both citizens and police officers were subject to the law, urging members of the public to seek lawful remedies whenever they believed their rights had been violated.
He said citizens should not resort to violence when they disagreed with police actions, while officers must equally conduct themselves professionally and respect the dignity of members of the public.
“We must therefore resist two dangerous extremes: the idea that every police action should be accepted without question, and the equally dangerous idea that frustration with the police justifies attacking officers. Neither serves justice,” he added.
Eitokpah further encouraged citizens to report alleged police misconduct, challenge unlawful arrests through legal channels and pursue complaints through the appropriate authorities.
He also urged police officers to recognise their interactions with citizens as opportunities to build public confidence in the force.
“Ultimately, the protection of police officers and the protection of citizens are not opposing causes. They are part of the same objective: a society governed by law rather than force,” he added.
