Following the arrest of one Zainab Duke-Abiola, a professor and human rights activist who allegedly assaulted a female inspector, Teju Moses, the Police Service Commission (PSC) has said officers should be deployed to tackle insecurity instead of loitering around very important persons (VIPs).

According to the force, Duke-Abiola was said to have assaulted the female inspector over her refusal to breach professional ethics by carrying out domestic chores.

Prior to the arrest, pictures showing a female police officer with a bruised face appeared on social media with the narrative that she was assaulted by her principal.

Reacting to the incident, the PSC, in a statement on Friday by Ikechukwu Ani, its spokesperson, condemned the abuse of police orderlies by Nigerians who converted them to house help for domestic chores.

“The commission condemns this act which it considers barbaric and inhuman. It sees the assault as a direct threat to national security and a calculated attempt to ridicule the Nigeria Police Force and what it stands for,” the statement reads.

“While the commission calls for immediate investigation and prosecution of all characters involved in the show of shame, it notes that the operations of the Special Protection Unit (SPU) should be reviewed to ensure that only a few Nigerians who genuinely deserve such protection are availed of this service.

“The commission frowns at the abuse of police orderlies by Nigerians who now use them as status symbols or convert them to house helps who clean, cook or do menial jobs.

“It noted that with the security problems ravaging the nation, there is an urgent need to free many police officers loitering in private houses and following ‘big men’ around.

“The commission calls on the Police hierarchy to quickly stop this practice and concentrate its efforts in policing and protecting a greater number of vulnerable Nigerians.”