From Molly Kilete, Abuja
The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has disowned police personnel found escorting 113 Chinese and Malaysians nationals recently arrested for Cybercrimes in Abuja.
He said the officers who were on an illegal duty had been detained alongside their Unit Commanders
Egbetokun made this known at a workshop organised for the standardisation of criminal investigations for Heads of Police investigation Units nationwide in Abuja.
The IGP, while answering journalists’ questions on why the police provided security for the foreigners during the workshop, replied: “Yes, it is true that some policemen were also seen protecting these foreigners, and the policemen have been arrested. We found out that the policemen were on illegal duty. Nobody deployed them. They were not properly deployed for that assignment, So they were performing illegal duties, and they will be dealt with accordingly.”
On November 4, the Nigeria Police Force announced the arrest of 130 suspects linked to high-level cybercrimes, hacking and activities threatening national security. The group included 113 foreign nationals—87 men and 26 women—mainly from China and Malaysia and their 17 Nigerian collaborators.
The IGP, while noting that there were individuals in the society, especially employers of labour and big businessmen who deserved police protection, said, “That, again, does not remove the fact that we have to deploy for the protection of certain individuals in our society. There are VIPs that the police have to protect.
“There are big businessmen, employers of labour. There are individuals who have thousands of Nigerians in their organizations. Such individuals deserve protection.
“Because if anything happens to them, you can imagine what will happen to their businesses. You can imagine the effects that are going to have on the unemployment rates in our country. So, such individuals, we look at their position in society.”
“We look at what they contribute to the economy of the country. And we decide whether they need police protection or not.”
On the arrested minors, he clarified that they were not arrested for participating in the #EndBadGovernance protests but for looting and destruction of public infrastructure.
“I don’t want to make any categorical statement on this issue again, after the intervention of Mr. President. I just want to thank Mr. President for his fatherly intervention to give those children pardon. But I want to use this opportunity to correct an impression. The impression that those minors were arrested for participating in the #EndBadGovernance protest is a wrong narrative. It is not true. We arrested criminals who took advantage of the protest to cause destruction of public infrastructure, to destroy private businesses and to commit arson. Those ones cannot be regarded as protesters. The police did not arrest any protester.