The name “Alagbon,” which is the location of the Force Criminal lnvestigation Department (FCID), conjures fear and trepidation in every person being dragged to the conclave on account of all types of fraud and criminality. In fact, no decent Nigerian or foreigner doing business in the country wants his or her name associated with Alagbon. The same with private companies and other institutions.
Police personnel attached to this highest investigative arm of the police department were the equivalent of Scotland Yard in the sphere of investigation. Truly, they were the best hands the Nigeria Police could boast of at the time it was established.
Today, the story has changed, according to an lgbo adage “No one knows how water entered the pot of okra soup.”
Alagbon has become a sad commentary. In fact, this icon of investigation, is a shadow of its glorious past.
All you see is complete structural decay, while the policemen are more into what an observer described as “merchandising policing.”
The rot, structurally and professionally, is the painful legacy of the ex-Inspector-General of Police, Mallam lbrahim Idris, who escaped out of the country weeks after his retirement.
Alagbon, which was a police investigation hub par excellence, is like a wobbling tyre hit by a heavy-duty machine.
As my driver meandered through the heavy traffic of Lagos from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, lkeja, hours later, we found ourselves in Obalende, and a few minutes’ drive brought us to the dreaded Alagbon. The new police sign gave it away. The buildings are dilapidated with the paintwork peeling.
“Has the IGP, Mr. Mohammed Adamu, paid a visit to this place?” I asked the sergeant at the gate. He responded in the negative. “What! He should visit Alagbon.”
He was there as a young officer with Tunde Ogunshakin, Marvel Akpoyibo, Peace Ibekwe Hamdala, Nuhu Ribadu, Austin Iwar, Fatai Owoseni, Zakari Biu, late Haruna John, Amusa Bello, and many others. They were some of the finest investigators. The IGP cannot look the other way and abandon this legacy of the police to be moribund.
Alagbon has suddenly become a laughing stock. Even groundnut sellers now display their wares in front of the gate. A place that was mostly dreaded has suddenly become a beehive of commercial activities, instead of real investigative policing. You wonder if it was not the same Alagbon that had played host to many top politicians, great musician like Fela Anikulapo Kuti, top business executives and many advanced fee fraud suspects.
The place has been turned to an intimidation centre. A horrific tale of wickedness and manipulation of the law. The first place I visited in Alagbon was the room where the present IGP, Adamu Mohammed, once served as an officer attached to the International Police (Interpol) in the early 1990s. In all, the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) has produced two IGPs, apart from the incumbent. They are Sunday Ehindero, and Hafiz Ringim.
The IGPs former office now looks like a mini supermarket, like every office in the enclosure. Gone were the days of police as gentlemen. Gone were the days when it was an abomination for a police officer to demand and collect bribe. Today, bribe taking is not only the second name of police officers in Alagbon but its an Open Sesame story. Supervision is alien, as policemen and officers exhibit rotten traits that clearly paints the institution as one that is rudderless. The organisational and structural decay force tears from anyone with a clear picture of what FCID Alagbon used to be.
I was informed that a new Assistant Inspector-General of police, Murtala Mani, was posted to the department since May this year. Interestingly, he has kicked off with a few structural arrangements. To reduce the filth and merchandising police mentality among the officers, he has sent many on a retraining course, while many have been redeployed. AIG Mani is not new to cleaning rot. As the Akwa Ibom State police commissioner, he was able to clean the state of corrupt police officers. His track record became noticeable as a refined and disciplined police officer when, as the personal staff officer to Mohammad Abubakar, the then IGP, he recommended that “bad” police officers be either transferred out of Force Headquarters or to training institutions. Mani served as PSO to three IGPs including MD Abubakar, Ogbonnaya Onovo and Ringim.
He is an officer who loves an orderly set up. Since his posting to Alagbon, he has spread his intelligence tentacles around to discipline corrupt officers. Impressively, he has briefed crime journalists on his immediate target, which includes restoring the lost glory of FCID Alagbon. In other words, even the AIG knows that there was glory lost.
This writer last visited Alagbon in 1991 when DIG Donald Ugbaja, as the head of Alagbon, was arrested and detained inside Alagbon cell for complicity and fraudulent activities. It was in Alagbon that stories that hit the front pages were gotten. Media houses posted their best investigative reporters to cover activities in Alagbon.
Each head of FCID Alagbon was newsmaker in his own right and capacity. Each of them was the toast of newsmen. For instance, DIG Chris Omeben was the coordinating DIG when notorious armed robber Lawrence Anini and his gang were still rampaging all over Benin, and Omeben’s official driver was mercilessly killed by the gang. The gang members were, however, arrested by Parry Osayande, who was then a commissioner of police. On his promotion as DIG, FCID Alagbon, Osayande held sway and investigated the death of George Idah, the chairman of Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State, but was removed for arresting Lucky lgbinedion, son of a business tycoon in the state.
Another newsmakers was DIG Archibong Nkana, the officer who distinctly coined the word “419” out of our criminal code and popularised the word by tagging it to the crime.
The decay in Alagbon can only be attributed to systemic failure and organisational weakness; there is a fundamental issue begging for urgent solutions. What Alagbon needs is a modern structure with dedicated officers who will once again project positively the image of the police.