The names and phone numbers of the Police Public Relations Officers (PPROs) of 12 states on the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) website are outdated, FIJ can report.
FIJ surfed the NPF website on Thursday, Friday and Tuesday for the list containing the contact details of PPROs for each state. FIJ found that the details of some state PPROs belonged to former PPROs.
Out of the 36 state PPROs on the list, 24 were correct; the details of the remaining 12 were outdated and belonged to previous state PPROs.
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For instance, on the NPF website, Odiko S. Ogbeche-Macdon’s name and phone number were written as the contact details of the Akwa Ibom PPRO instead of John Timfon, who was announced as the state’s PPRO in April. It was five months since Timfon became Akwa Ibom PPRO, but Ogbeche-Macdon’s details remained on the website’s list of state PPROs.
Also, Ejire Adetoun Adeyemi’s details were missing from the list of state PPROs on the website, despite being appointed as the Kwara PPRO in November. The details of Okasanmi Ajayi, the former Kwara PPRO, retained the same spot.
While FIJ understands that some state PPROs were appointed recently, some of them, like Adeyemi, have occupied their positions for almost a year. Yet, their details were nowhere to be found on the list.
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The names of the current state PPROs whose names were missing from the list on the NPF website are contained in the table below:
STATESCURRENT PPRONAME ON NPF WEBSITEAkwa IbomJohn TimfonOdiko S. Ogbeche-MacdonBayelsaMusa MohammedButswat AsinimBornoNahum Kenneth DasoSani KamiluEbonyiJoshua UkanduChris AnyanwuEdoMoses Joel YamuChidi NwabuzorGombeBuhari AbdullahiMahid Muazu AbubakarImoOkoye HenryMichael AbattamKadunaMansir HassanMohammed JaligeKwara Ejire Adetoun AdeyemiOkasannmi AjayiKatsinaAbubakar Sadiq AliyuGambo IsahOgunOmolola OdutolaAbimbola OyeyemiZamfaraYazid AbubakarMuhammed ShehuNames of PPROs missing on the list of PPROs on NPF website
By retaining details of previous state PPROs on their website, the NPF is violating Article 3.1 of the NITDA standards guidelines for websites, which states:
The Internet is becoming a preferred means of accessing Governmentinformation and services. Therefore, Government Institutions, throughtheir websites, must make sure that information provided is current andthat it is updated at least weekly.
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While this may appear as a minor issue, journalists who have had to contact state PPROs for information beneficial to their work are usually disappointed. They often surf the NPF website for the contact details of state PPROs, and find the details of the previous PPROs instead.
Abimbola Abatta, a journalist with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), said she finds it embarrassing to call a PPRO, whose details she found on the website only to hear they no longer hold that position.
“It can be really annoying because you would expect an agency notorious for (accusations of) its numerous and regular atrocities to have updated means of communication on its website,” she said on Tuesday.
“I find it embarrassing having to call a Police PRO only for them to say they are no longer the spokesperson for that state. It sometimes makes one appear disorganised and uninformed.
“These days, I have to check recent news reports and compare the names of police spokespersons on the NPF website before I call. And this shows one thing as a journalist: the police website is not to be trusted 100%. Always verify.”
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Often, journalists who find themselves in this situation have to contact other colleagues to help them with the contact details of the PPRO they need to speak with.
Opeyemi Lawal, another journalist, said this could be frustrating, considering the urgency and timeliness associated with news reports.
“I usually feel frustrated when I have to contact colleagues to help me with the details of PPROs whose names are not on the NPF website, considering that I have deadlines as well as the urgency and timeliness that comes with writing news reports,” Lawal told FIJ on Tuesday.
“Sometimes you don’t even know if the colleague you are reaching out to can help you or not,” she added.
FIJ sent Muyiwa Adejobi, the Police Force PRO, a message on Monday, but he did not respond. Adejobi did not respond to FIJ’s calls on Tuesday.
The post NPF Website Violates NITDA Guidelines, Displays Past PPRO Phone Numbers appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.