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Onyedika Agbedo
Ahead of the 2019 general elections, indications have emerged that the task of providing a conducive atmosphere for the conduct of a free, fair and peaceful election would be a daunting one for the Nigerian Police Force. The allegation of gun-running and breeding of thugs recently leveled against a serving senator is a pointer that a lot of the current crop of politicians in the country would stop at nothing to ensure that they emerge victorious at the polls.
The police had last Monday paraded two men they alleged were members of an armed gang terrorising Kogi State. According to the police spokesperson, Jimoh Moshood, the suspects who were identified as Kabiru Saidu and Nuru Salisu, confessed during interrogations that Senator Dino Melaye, who represents Kogi West Senatorial District, was sponsoring them.
“The suspect further confessed that Melaye told him that they should start working as his political thugs and that they should recruit and train more thugs to work for him in preparation toward 2019 general elections to enable him (Melaye) challenge his political opponents and disorganise Kogi State,” the police alleged.
The police further alleged that after the meeting, Melaye gave the suspects one AK-47 rifle, two pump action guns and N430, 000 cash.
Although Melaye had quickly dismissed the allegation as “fabricated lies by Kogi State government and the police” that would fail, some Nigerians have expressed concern over the development.
In separate interviews with Sunday Sun, former member of the House of Representatives, Dr. Junaid Mohammed; Secretary General, Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP), Chief Willy Ezugwu; and Executive Director, Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), Comrade Ibuchukwu Ohabuenyi Ezike, observed that the trend of using thugs to secure electoral victories was not new to the country. They blamed the situation on the inability of the security agencies to bring perpetrators to book over time.
Mohammed, however, told Sunday Sun that the finding by the police should serve as a warning to the Federal Government that the country’s security system was dysfunctional.
He said: “It is a very, very unfortunate development and I believe the police are being sincere in spite of their enormous shortcomings. I believe they are right to forewarn the country particularly this lousy government, which seems not to be in charge of anything. I believe that for us to have elections that will institutionalise our democracy, there has to be a responsible government that maintains law and order, because the primary function of any government is the maintenance of law and order, protection of lives and property and ensuring that there is some measure of harmony, peace and justice in the country. On all these counts, I have not seen any evidence that President Buhari, his party or for that matter the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are in any way behaving responsibly; and that is a very dangerous trend, which is likely to throw the country into anarchy, as far as I am concerned. So, I really believe that it is important that the police are worried even though they themselves don’t behave responsibly and are terribly corrupt.”
He added: “Unfortunately, there is nothing the police can do because a major problem of the police is under funding; and the officer in the Nigerian police is using the under funding to justify the corruption which is now rampant in the force. The Nigerian armed forces are getting huge amount of money from the Federal Government, billions if not trillions, but a lot of it is being squandered and not deployed for the intended use. There have been instances where soldiers shot their commanders. So, with this kind of situation, you can see that we are really sitting on a keg of gunpowder, and then any thing can happen.
“So, as far as I am concerned, the government must be sincere; it must make sure that the police are not only provided with adequate equipment to enhance their job, but also pay their salaries and allowances as and when due, which is not the case now.”
Mohammed posited that unless the police are adequately funded and equipped, the hope of a peaceful election in 2019 is a mirage. “This is the problem because in a normal democratic dispensation, it is the police who are close to the civilian population. It is the police who are also close to the politicians. It is the police you rely on for information that can be verified; and they tend to be fairly level headed. But when you don’t fund them properly, when you deny them their salaries and allowances, there is the likelihood that they will abandon their posts or connive with politicians and political parties to pollute the electoral system. That will be very dangerous,” he warned.
Ezugwu, on his part, urged the police to intensify efforts towards arresting and prosecuting those that are possessing firearms illegally in the country as part of strategy to ensure a violence-free election in 2019. He, however, faulted the decision of the police to mop up legally acquired firearms from members of the public.
“It’s just quite unfortunate that since the killings in every part of this country, the police have never recovered even one AK-47 from the so-called bandits and herdsmen. But today, the police are asking people that they gave licence to possess gun to return it. So, these law-abiding Nigerians have suddenly turned to armed robbers, kidnappers and what have you? How would disarming the vigilante groups and individuals that legally acquired their guns benefit the country?
“On their claim that politicians have started arming thugs ahead of 2019 elections, I want to say that this has been happening all the time. But the police should do its job; not to give a blanket order that everybody in possession of a gun whether legally or illegally should surrender it. Haven’t we been doing elections in this country? Hasn’t there been thuggery? If the police are doing their job, they should wait until the election comes and if they see thugs that are carrying guns, they should arrest and prosecute them. This order to disarm everybody will expose many Nigerians to danger,” Ezugwu said.
Ezugwu also seized the opportunity to speak on the release of the abducted Dapchi girls by Boko Haram, saying: “We have never seen such a situation where terrorists would kidnap somebody and with fanfare release the person without receiving ransom. And from the story we heard, the military left the whole Dapchi area before the girls were abducted. In releasing them after one month, they drove with about nine trucks to the town and dropped them and left. The whole thing looks like a fallacy. They are just trying to make a cheap political entrance by trying to create the impression, may be with 2019 elections in their mind, that security is better in the country. But what about the killings in places like Benue, Kogi, Plateau, Taraba and Zamfara states. So, what are we talking about? It’s unfortunate that the government of today could come up with this kind of story. It is as if we no longer have thinking faculties again in this country. The whole story about the Dapchi girls’ abduction and release looks like a fallacy.”
To Ezike, the fact that Melaye is at the centre of the police’s allegation of gun running and breeding of thugs in preparation for the 2019 is suspicious.
He said: “My take on the issue is why should it be Dino Melaye? Many Nigerians know that of late he has been the most critical mind against this government not minding that he is a member of the ruling party. It might be that the government is after him as he alleged because among all the politicians in Nigeria, why are the police raising the alarm in connection with Melaye? You see, there are certain things that you do, even when you are doing it correctly, because of the current situation on the ground, people might misread the handwriting on the wall. It’s just like the issue of the Dapchi girls’ abduction and release. There are certain things you must do to make the people believe that you are actually working for them and that you are a peoples’ government.”
Ezike also noted that thuggery is not new to Nigeria’s electoral system. “There is nothing new about politicians working with thugs. Since 1999 what we have been seeing is people winning elections with the use of thugs in most cases and then by manipulating the electoral management body, the INEC. We are aware that there are places where under-aged people were allowed to vote and you heard what the INEC commissioner in charge of public communication said — that their staff are not safe there. So, where is their staff safe? Are they saying that other people cannot mobilise people to attack INEC staff? So, there are many ways of trying to win elections fraudulently in Nigeria and it is not only through thuggery. Thuggery is just one of them. The government has done nothing about this; the security agencies have done nothing about the situation. So, it is not a big deal; it’s a norm in Nigeria and the security agencies are culpable. They have not been able to prosecute and convict anybody,” he said.
He explained further: “Many Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) served as observers in the last governorship election in Edo State and one of them was harassed by the security agencies for asking them to do their job properly. So, whose fault was that? It’s just like what the Inspector General of Police (IGP) is doing now by asking people to return guns they legally acquired. If somebody bought a gun legally and he has not abused it, why should you ask him or her to return it when some people are going about killing and raping people across the country and nothing has been done? So, if the IGP is alive to his duties, he should bring these people who are killing innocent Nigerians to book. Let him ensure that they are arrested and prosecuted in accordance with the law. So, there are other issues the police should focus on instead of asking people to return their legally acquired guns.”
