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Emmanuel Onwubiko
The Nigeria Police Council headed by the Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari had on Thursday May 23rd 2019 confirmed Mr. Adamu Mohammed of Nasarawa state as the substantive Inspector General of Police. Mohammed had acted as the nation’s chief law enforcement officer for nearly six months. Incidentally, the police council which is a constitutional body is also made up of state governors.
It is important to emphasize the aspect of the membership of the police council by the state governors because the bulk of the policing jobs are usually done amongst the people in the different states and local councils of the federation whereby the substantial percentage of the constituents reside. As we may be aware, section 14 of the Constitution says the Sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria. Also the primary purpose of government is the provision of security of lives and property of the Nigerian citizens. So it is safe to state that the confirmation of a staff on probation goes to show that the person has performed optimally.
There is no doubt that since coming on board, around early January when the loquacious erstwhile Inspector General of police Alhaji Kpodum Idris from Niger State exited after a disgraceful and lackluster tenure, the now confirmed IGP has shown sparks of his willingness to perform. The other question is to ascertain if he has been able to transform his body language to perform with the reality of meeting up with the realities of our times given that Nigeria is now in a monumental security nightmare.
To the second question of whether he has performed, one is left to say that it is only just too early to authoritatively assert if he has performed or not but one certainty is that his job is well cut out for him. This is made manifest by the increasingly emerging security challenges in the whole of Nigeria.
The ball is therefore in the court of the newly confirmed inspector General of police to show remarkable distinction between himself and the immediate past police boss who almost crippled the police operationally.
The Nigeria Police Force is not really a force to reckon with because of the obvious failures of law enforcement by the police which has resulted in the collapse of law and order all across Nigeria with the North West and North East of Nigeria representing spectacles in instability and insecurity.
The most disturbing criminal phenomenon that Nigeria face at this moment are the state of overwhelming control of the public space by armed kidnappers. The central and state governments have shown lack of political will to tackle the insecurity. The federal government as currently composed has failed to bring the situation of anarchy and doom being spread by bandits and kidnappers to a close. This is because the security services and especially the police seems to be lacking the capacity to confront these dare devil kidnappers and bandits.
Although the situation has not really collapsed totally because we can at least be consoled that the police has in the last couple of months informed Nigerians about the arrests of some of those armed bandits and kidnappers. The missing link is the absence of a robustly executed prosecution making use of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act signed into law in 2015(ACJA of 2015). I will return to this ACJA of 2015. Lets review the profiles of arrests of kidnappers in the past couple of months and then juxtapose this development with the absence of effective and efficient prosecution of kidnappers which creates a climate of impunity which culminates in the state of anarchy and doom that Nigeria represents now.
The Nigeria Police Force on Thursday May 15th 2019 paraded 93 suspected kidnappers and armed robbers terrorizing Niger, Katsina and Kaduna States, especially Kaduna-Abuja highway. It said 35; AK47 Rifles, 21 Dane Guns, 500 live ammunition and a host of other weapons including a Rocket launcher were recovered from the suspects.
Parading the suspects at Katari village along Kaduna-Abuja highway, the Force Spokesman, DCP Frank Mba, said the 93 suspected kidnappers and armed robbers were arrested within the past two weeks in joint operations in Kaduna, Niger and Katsina States.
According to Mba, 35 AK47 Rifles, 21 Dane Guns and more than 500 live ammunition were recovered from the suspects. The Force Spokesman attributed the successful arrests and seizures to Operation Puff Adder launched to clear criminals away from Kaduna-Abuja expressway and Nigeria at large.
DCP Mba who was flanked by the Kaduna State Commissioner of Police, Aji Ali Janga said, the joint operations comprised policemen from operations, intelligence, technical, counter terrorism and special protection units among others. He said that the operation was designed largely to tackle kidnapping, robbery and banditry giving Nigerians sleepless nights, adding that the successes recorded so far were huge. According to him, “The suspects were arrested from Matari Forest, Niger axis and some were pursued to as far as Katsina. The Plateau State Police Command around March also paraded seventeen persons over crimes ranging from culpable homicide, armed robbery criminal conspiracy, rape, abduction among others. The command stated this through the Commissioner of Police, Isaac Akinmoyede, while briefing journalists at its headquarters in Jos.
The Ondo State Police Command Wednesday April 10th 2019 paraded five suspected kidnappers who were members of gangs terrorizing the Akunnu Akoko area of the state
The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Undie Adie, while addressing journalists during the parade of the suspects, said the men were members of the gang that abducted one Prince Omoghae Igbegbon on April 2, 2019, on Akunnu-Akoko/Auga-Akoko road.
According to the state police boss, the suspects allegedly disposed their victim of the sum of N185,000 before demanding N30 million ransom for his release. FCT Police Command on March 29th 2019, paraded 37 suspects for kidnapping, armed robbery, car theft, phone snatching and other sundry crimes in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Parading the suspects, the FCT Commissioner of Police, Bala Ciroma, said the command will continue to be proactive in its fight against crime by deploying crime fighting strategies that will satisfy the security yearnings of residents. He noted that the command in its renewed efforts to rid the city of crimes, embarked on raids and stop search operations, to deny hoodlums freedom of operation.
Reeling the successes of the command, he said the command’s anti-kidnapping squad on March 16, 2019 arrested 20-year-old Nasiru Mohammed, 19-year-old Sale Bello, and 30-year-old Hassan Audu and rescued seven-year-old Rejoice Godwin, and nine-year-old Seke Godwin, who were abducted on March 8, in Yemi, Zuba, from their captors at Lambata, in Niger State.
The Kaduna State Police Command on April 26th 2019 paraded 34 suspected criminals, including kidnappers and armed bandits terrorizing the state. The command also arrested suspects alleged to have rustled over 300 cattle and sheep. All the suspects are currently undergoing further investigation.
The Nigeria Police Force, Sokoto command on December 17th2018 paraded 19suspects, for participating in criminal activities ranging from kidnapping, armed robbers, Cattle rustling, banditry and other forms of criminal activities within the state.
Parading the suspects at the state headquarters on Monday, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Cordelia Nwaiwe that one Lawali Aliyu (M), from More, Kware Local Government Area, was apprehended with live ammunition. The suspect was nabbed at a village called Araba of Illela Local Government, a border town between Nigeria and Republic of Niger while trying to smuggle about 4,000 AK 47 live ammunition for onward distribution to Sokoto, Zamfara and Kebbi State.
Onwubiko heads Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) and [email protected]
