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By Christopher Oji
The Okun Society Forum (OSF), Kogi State, has called on the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, as a matter of urgency, to look into the activities of the Commissioner of Police, Kogi State Command,
Bethrand Onuoha, whose tenure is billed to end on January 22, 2025.
The group also appealed to President Bola Tinubu to direct all the arms of government to look into the activities of CP Onuoha, claiming that he has derailed from his police job to become a partisan politician in the state.
At a press conference in Lagos over the weekend, the spokesman for OSF, Brig-Gen. Benjamin Ipinyomi, who discussed the political happenings in Kogi State, accused the CP of unprofessional conduct and openly supporting the former administration and the incumbent one in the state without considering that there are other stakeholders in the Kogi.
Brig-Gen. Ipinyomi said the duty of the police was to protect lives and properties but Onuoha has abdicated his duty and thrown professionalism to the dustbin to the extent that he has become a spokesman for the ruling party in the state, while security continues to suffer in Kogi.
“For instance, CP Onuoha, on August 16, 2024, placed the state on red alert. The big questions are to the Commissioner of Police Kogi State: on whose authority is he acting to place Kogi State on red alert in anticipation of perceived crisis after the Supreme Court judgment? On whose directive was he requesting for additional manpower for an operation on August 16? Has CP Bethrand Onuoha become the spokeperson of the Supreme Court?
“He spoke and wrote a memo, Ref CJ: 3910/KGS/DOPS/VOL 14/129, dated August 12, 2024, addressed to all departments, formations and divisions in Kogi State requesting for additional manpower. The CP should explain to Nigerians the report of all the murder cases under his tenure as the CP in Kogi State. What are the causes of the gross insecurity in the state and what measures has he put in place to curb insecurity in the state?
“What kinetic and non-kinetic strategies haa he put in place to curb insecurity? What has he done about illegal mining in the state since assumption of duty? Why did he authorize the movement of three to four armored tanks to invade a residence at Ayingba, where innocent civilians were murdered?
“In connection with the question above, he should answer why two NPF officers were brutally murdered during the invasion of the residence.
Is he aware that taxpayers’ money was used to train and equip the murdered officers? He should explain the recent kidnap cases and the discrepancies in the reported number of students kidnapped,” he said.
Ipinyomi, who was the director, security and intelligence, of the Muri/Sam Social Democratic Party (SDP) Campaign Council in the last governorship election, called on the police authorities to take immediate action and save the security situation in the state from deteriorating irretrievably.
“I request the IGP, who has a PhD in Peace and Security Studies and excellent track record, to beam more light on the activities of CP Bethrand Onuoha and authorize the administrative arm of the NPF to call him to order and discipline him accordingly for all the unanswered murder cases during his tenure. Also note that CP Bethrand Onuoha has dropped professionalism for mediocrity, incompetence and partisanship.
“The IGP is further requested to post in a competent CP, who has MNI, FDC crests or any related qualification. This is to re-orientate the men on ground. CP Onuoha should be called to order immediately by NPF authorities before his run-off date January 22, 2025.
“The lives of our brothers, sisters, fathers and mothers are not secure within and outside Kogi State,” Ipinyomi said.
On the last gubernatorial poll in Kogi State, he said the election of November 11, 2023, was marred by large-scale rigging but the electoral umpire, INEC, still announced the result in favour of the All Progressives Congress
(APC). He stated that the results were challenged at the Kogi State Elections Petitions Tribunal because of the irregularities noticed at the unit, ward and local government levels, prevalently in Kogi Central. The Federal Government of Nigeria, he explained, expended hundreds of billions of naira to procure the voting machines with taxpayers’ money to improve election integrity in Nigeria.
Ipinyomi said: “It was to ensure public trust, voter confidence and automation of results, among others. While at the tribunal, the Prosecution Witness 1, an INEC staff, presented his identity card and a letter of introduction from the electoral umpire. Over 500 BVAS were displayed from various LGAs. The Social Democratic Party challenged the grossly manipulated results as against what was obtained in the BVAS. Okene, Okehi, Adavi, Ajaokuta and Lokoja LGAs were marred
by massive irregularities despite the use of the BVAS during the election and, at the instance of the honorable tribunal, the INEC staff opened the BVAS and read the specific number of accredited voters in the state. These recordings and releases call for serious concern to Nigerians and Kogites in particular. How can 118,068 accredited
voters mathematically transform into 286,437 votes as declared by INEC in favour of the APC candidate?
“Electoral Act stipulates unequivocally that where the
number of votes cast at any polling unit exceeds the number of
accredited voters in that polling unit, the presiding officer shall cancel the results of the election in that polling unit. This act was
not applied to Kogi State during the collation and release of results of the November 2023 gubernatorial election.”
Ipinyomi stressed that the OSF has resolved that the truth must be known about what transpired during and after the governorship election in Kogi State.
He said, “At the tribunal, our case was heard by the judges but, unfortunately, they ruled against SDP. This was based on technicalities.
The judgment was delivered on May 27, 2024, but four days before,
there was jubilation in Governor Ododo’s camp that APC had won at the tribunal. The question is, how did they get the information of the
content of the judgment while the SDP legal team was not awareof the date until a day before the judgment was delivered?
Evidence abounds on the social space.
“At the appellate court, the same jubilation was all over the media space that Ododo had won the appeal. The question is, how did
they get the content and the precise date of the judgment?
“Recently, on August 6, 2024, some APC aides, political juggernauts and appointees in Kogi State took to social
media to jubilate again as was done previously in the last two rulings. This time, August 16, was publicized to be the judgment date from the Supreme Court. However, it was denounced by their political actors and the spokesman, Kingsley
Fanwo.
“The judiciary is a highly respected arm of government. I politely request the National Judicial Council to prevail on the
Supreme Court to be open to their conscience in all the processes involved in the judgment between the APC and SDP in Kogi
State.”
