The Integrity Youth Alliance has said that the publication by Sahara Reporters claiming that DCP Akin Fakorede, the Head of the IGP Monitoring Unit, is a Notorious Rights Abuser, is completely false and aimed at damaging Fakorede’s reputation out of envy.
According to a press release signed by the Alliance’s Board Chairman, Comrade Adewole Kehinde, on Thursday, December 12th, 2024, none of the allegations against Fakorede are true.
“We challenge Sahara Reporters and its cohorts to present single evidence of any Nigerian whose rights Fakorede has abused in his 33 years of service to the nation.
“There is no doubt that mischief makers are the ones behind this false fabrication against the person of Fakorede, and they are those flushed out during the sanitisation of the IGP Monitoring Unit who have almost turned the unit to rotten.
“Sahara Reporters claimed that panels that investigated police brutality in Nigeria indicted Fakorede and even recommended his sacking or demotion, we would be glad if they could publish the report of the panels for public consumption as we are in the era of facts
The Alliance further said that Fakorede had been subjected to many panels and was vindicated.
“He is not a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) or any other political party in Nigeria, so we wondered how the publication could claim that Fakorede “worked for the party as an instrument of elections’ rigging with promotion.”.
“Our investigations at the Police Service Commission (PSC) did not indicate that Fakorede has any pending cases, and the IGP Monitoring Unit is not responsible for any police misconduct but the Police Service Commission (PSC), who is responsible for disciplining police officers in Nigeria, except the Inspector General of Police.
“It is laughable to say that Fakorede faced accusations of systematic land grabbing and enabling violent property disputes when he was not the Commissioner for Land and Housing in the state.
“For the records, Fakorede brought sanity to Rivers so much that his name became a household name as he stopped many criminals as most of the daring ones fled the state. Those apprehended by his squad were diligently prosecuted and convicted at the Federal High Courts of Port Harcourt Judicial Division.
“Being a police officer who is hard-working and dedicated to his duties, he got engaged with international police work as he became Chief of the United Nations Police Operation in Darfur in Sudan from 2007 to 2009, where he earned several awards and medals for his exemplary leadership qualities and dedication to police duties while in that UN-Police Operation as head of Nigeria’s Contingent Team.
Fakorede’s appointment as the head of the IGP Monitoring Unit will further strengthen the relationship between Nigeria Police and international development partners and funding agencies because he came on board with integrity, honesty, and ethics, adhering to the law and departmental policies; professionalism, which includes maintaining a high standard of conduct, being respectful, and demonstrating competence in his duties as well as empathy and compassion, the statement concluded.
