Razaq AbdulKareem/

The Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Zone ‘2’ Command, AIG Ahmed Iliyasu, has charged police officers to see themselves as frontline workers in fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the AIG, given the fact that the police force is the lead agency in the enforcement of the measures put in place to contain the spread of the disease, police officers must take all necessary precautions in their day-to-day interaction with members of the public.

Iliyasu added that police officers deserved equal level of protection as health care workers during the period of the pandemic because of the high contact nature of their jobs, which exposes them to a high level of possibility of becoming infected or infecting others.

The AIG spoke while receiving protective items and relief materials donated to the zonal command by the management of Adron Homes and Property Limited, at the zonal headquarters in Onikan, Lagos, at the weekend.

The police boss commended the gesture by the company, led by its Group Managing Director, Adetola Emmanuel King, describing it as a “rare recognition of the onerous task of the police as an agency saddled with the statutory responsibility of protecting the lives and properties of the citizenry”.

Iliyasu also charged police officers “to adhere strictly to the standard rules of keeping safe by ensuring constant washing of hands with soap, regularly applying hand sanitisers and maintaining physical distancing while discharging their duties”.

Also speaking at the presentation, King said the company was motivated to make the donation by the desire “to keep officers safe while performing their duties, as well as cushion the effects of the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic on their abilities to effectively discharge their statutory responsibilities”.

The items donated included alcoholic-based hand sanitisers, face masks and food items.