Nigeria policeman who has never collected bribe honoured by BBC.

Julius Adedeji is said to have never taken a bribe — not because he has never been offered such but because it is “needless” for him.

And for that rare feat, the BBC is celebrating him as Nigeria’s ‘most dedicated police officer’. He tells the broadcast service in an interview that he was surprised receiving the award because he did not know he was being watched.

“I thank God that it’s recognised and I feel like putting my best more and more,” he said. “A copy of the letter (from the BBC) was delivered to my office for my information, when I read through it, I was wondering could it be true?

I read through the letter and I saw that it said, they wanted an institution where they can name and shame those that are not doing well and encourage the people that are doing well within the Nigerian police force, I felt so great.”

Asked if he has ever been offered money in the form of bribe, he said: “Absolutely. And even today a person offered to give me some money and I said ‘no,no,no,no why would you do that, I’m just doing my work’.”

He, however, admitted he has been tempted to take bribes. “There’s no way one would not once in a while be tempted,” he said, adding: “But I just want to do what is right.”