"You are under arrest but there is no handcuff to tame you", might just be what suspects will be hearing from police officers.
Despite official denial, the police force has been hit by a shortage of the cold metal usually used to restrain violent suspects.
The police are already facing problems of inadequate logistics and equipment. Now it's a drought of handcuffs.
The Deputy Force Public Relations Officer (DFPRO), Mr. Yemi Ajayi, told THISDAY there were enough handcuffs but that officers and men had been warned against indiscriminate use of the security gadget.
But senior police officers who spoke to THISDAY off the record said handcuff shortage had become a big headache as they seek to discharge their duties.
A Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja Command, said his division "has very few handcuffs and that in case there is emergency, my officers and men will be handicapped".
The DPO explained that because handcuffs are metal, they rust easily.
"Since many of the ones given to my division are now bad, no replacement has been made so far," he said.
The story is told of a police officer who arrested a criminal suspect, took him to the station and started asking for a pair of handcuffs frantically to no avail.
But the lack of handcuffs is not the only thing tying the hand of the police - even arms and ammunition could be scarce to come by too.
"It is not everything happening in the force that we can be discussing freely. If I tell you that we have just few communication gadgets in my division, will you believe?" a DPO said.
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