The Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase on Wednesday said all Policemen will henceforth be subjected to snap urine tests so as to check for drug abuse before being issued firearms.
Disclosing this during the launch of drug testing kits and campaign against sudden death of police officers in Abuja, Arase said officers who fail the test would be denied access to firearms and be weaned from drugs.
The programme was organised by the Nigeria Police Force in collaboration with the Hypertension and Diabetes Awareness Foundation.
According to the IGP, the killing of Nigerians from misapplication of firearms by policemen had made the public to cast aspersions on the force.
Arase said, “After an in-depth study, my team and I have found out that some of these fatal cases could be due to mishandling of firearms by police officers who are psychologically unfit to handle firearms at that time.
“We have therefore decided that the medical assessment of persons we recruit into the police Force will include a psychological assessment, “
He also noted that the police had also initiated a policing strategy that would witness the transition of the force from relying on firearms to manage social disorders.
“Orders have been placed for this weaponry and adequate training framework is being put in place.
“My long term vision is to effectively address issues that engender misuse of firearms and give true meaning to our mandate of safeguarding the lives of our citizens,“he said.
Arase assured officers of the force’s readiness to address the issue of frequent death of its men from preventable or avoidable health challenges.
The police boss said medical personnel had attributed such deaths to chronic non-communicable diseases like diabetes mellitus and hypertension, adding that the medical department had been directed to screen all officers for the diseases.
“I encourage all men to come forward for health screening.
“Our medical section is well positioned to manage any health problems our officers and men may have,“he said.
